The deposit size frequency method for estimating undiscovered uranium deposits     

Richard B. McCammon  Warren I. Finch 《Natural Resources Research》1993,2(2):106-112

The deposit size frequency (DSF) method has been developed as a generalization of the method that was used in the National Uranium Resource Evaluation (NURE) program to estimate the uranium endowment of the United States. The DSF method overcomes difficulties encountered during the NURE program when geologists were asked to provide subjective estimates of (1) the endowed fraction of an area judged favorable (factorF) for the occurrence of undiscovered uranium deposits and (2) the tons of endowed rock per unit area (factorT) within the endowed fraction of the favorable area. Because the magnitudes of factorsF andT were unfamiliar to nearly all of the geologists, most geologists responded by estimating the number of undiscovered deposits likely to occur within the favorable area and the average size of these deposits. The DSF method combines factorsF andT into a single factor (F·T) that represents the tons of endowed rock per unit area of the undiscovered deposits within the favorable area. FactorF·T, provided by the geologist, is the estimated number of undiscovered deposits per unit area in each of a number of specified deposit-size classes. The number of deposit-size classes and the size interval of each class are based on the data collected from the deposits in known (control) areas. The DSF method affords greater latitude in making subjective estimates than the NURE method and emphasizes more of the everyday experience of exploration geologists. Using the DSF method, new assessments have been made for the young, organic-rich surficial uranium deposits in Washington and idaho and for the solution-collapse breccia pipe uranium deposits in the Grand Canyon region in Arizona and adjacent Utah.  相似文献   

Discrete element modelling of the influence of cover strength on basement-involved fault-propagation folding   总被引：2，自引：0，他引：2  

Stuart Hardy  Emma Finch   《Tectonophysics》2006,415(1-4):225-238

A discrete element model is used to investigate the influence of sedimentary cover strength on the development of basement-involved fault-propagation folds. We find that uniformly weak cover best promotes the development of classical, trishear-like fault-related folds showing marked anticlinal thinning and synclinal thickening, with cover dips increasing downwards towards the fault tip. Uniformly strong cover results in more rounded fold forms with only minor hinge thickening/thinning and significant basement fault-propagation into the sedimentary cover. Heterogeneous, layered, cover sequences with marked differences in strength promote the development of more complex and variable fold forms, with a close juxtaposition of brittle and macroscopically ductile features, which diverge from the predictions of simple kinematic models. In these structures the upper layers are often poor indicators of deeper structure. In addition, we find that in layered cover sequences fault-propagation into the cover is a complex process and is strongly buffered by the weaker cover units.  相似文献   

Continuous air rate measurement in flotation cells: Some fundamental considerations     

J.A. Torrealba-Vargas  J.A. Finch 《International Journal of Mineral Processing》2006

A robust and reliable sensor to measure gas (air) superficial velocity (J_g) continuously in flotation systems is introduced. It is based on the sampling of bubbles by buoyancy with the accumulating air allowed to exit through an orifice. At steady state, pressure drop is measured and related to the J_g by prior calibration. The continuous device is readily automated and extended to a multi-unit set-up. The sensor and data collections are described. The governing gas flow equation and models of the dynamic response to air flow rate set point change and fluctuations in froth depth are derived. Model predictions are confirmed against plant data. By taking a moving average, the J_g remains valid in the face of typical plant disturbances.  相似文献   

Strontium in coral aragonite: 2. Sr coordination and the long-term stability of coral environmental records     

Adrian A. Finch  Nicola Allison 《Geochimica et cosmochimica acta》2003,67(23):4519-4527

We have used X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Sr K-edge Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (EXAFS) to determine the structural state of Sr in a suite of coral aragonite samples. Our samples encompassed a selection of coral species (Porites lobata, Porites lutea, Pocillopora eydouxi, Montastrea annularis, Pavona gigantea and Pavona clavus) including some commonly used for palaeoenvironmental reconstruction. Aragonite was the only carbonate observed by XRD. We refined the isolated EXAFS against structural models for Sr in aragonite and two-phase strontianite/aragonite mixes. Our data are indistinguishable from Sr ideally substituted in aragonite and strontianite was present below detection levels (estimated at <5% of Sr present). Comparisons of recent and ancient coral aragonite show no sign of exsolution, either by spinodal decomposition or by the direct nucleation of strontianite domains. Published diffusion rates of Sr in ionic solids support the view that exsolution would occur prohibitively slowly. Coral aragonites are metastable materials with slow diffusion kinetics that have the potential to encode environments over timescales of millions of years.  相似文献   

Geological implications of new biostratigraphic data from East and West Kalimantan, Indonesia     

S.J Moss  E.M Finch 《Journal of Asian Earth Sciences》1997,15(6):353

This paper presents palaeontological ages based on new nannofossil and foraminiferal studies from a range of sedimentary rocks from the provinces of West and East Kalimantan, Indonesia. The age of sedimentary rocks in Kalimantan, away from the main hydrocarbon exploration areas of the coastal regions, represents a major gap in our basic knowledge of the island of Borneo. The implications of these new results and existing and new correlations are reviewed and suggested. In particular, the base of the Tertiary section in the Kutai Basin is shown to be upper Middle Eocene in age, rather than Late Eocene as originally thought. The limestones of the Batu Belah member of the Ujoh Bilang Formation are dated as NP24–25, Late Oligocene, rather than Early Oligocene as earlier work had suggested. In the western part of the Mangkalihat Peninsula area the base of the Tertiary section is determined to be Late Oligocene. Various basement units from both East and West Kalimantan contained Late Jurassic to Late Cretaceous microfossils.  相似文献   

Trough structures in the Western syenite of Kûngnât, S Greenland: mineralogy and mechanism of formation     

M. E. Hodson  Adrian A. Finch 《Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology》1997,127(1-2):46-56

In the Western layered syenite stock of the Kûngnât complex, close to the intrusion wall, there are two groups of regularly spaced, horizontally aligned, stacks of infilled troughs. These features resemble, to some extent, the trough layering within the UZa trough zone of the gabbroic Skaergaard¹ intrusion. Such features have never before been described in syenitic rocks. The lower group comprises six stacks of infilled troughs; the upper group comprises seven. The two groups are vertically separated by about 10 m of sparsely layered syenite. The infilled troughs in the upper group are stacked vertically; those in the lower group gradually shift laterally and appear to converge over an antiformal structure. It is not possible to measure the plunge of the troughs due to outcrop geometry. Troughs are up to about 80 cm deep. The material filling the troughs is more melanocratic than the syenite that surrounds them. Individual troughs exhibit normal grading. The syenite within the troughs contains large amphibole and biotite oikocrysts. Faintly layered syenite occurs laterally between stacks. Minerals in the host syenite are more ferroan than those in the troughs, this is thought to represent re-equilibration with residual melt. Feldspar textures, irregular pyroxene and apatite zoning, and the presence of irregular shaped amphibole patches within pyroxene grains all imply alteration by a pervasive deuteric fluid in both troughs and host syenite. We suggest the following hypothesis for the formation of the troughs. A mafic crystal sheath which grows on the walls of the magma chamber becomes detached and flows downwards. The descending slurry forms a series of regularly spaced streams which erode trough shaped channels into the crystal pile at the base of the chamber. Uneroded crystal material separates the channels. Crystals are deposited from these streams. Successive streams flow over each other to generate stacks of troughs.  相似文献   

Public health implications of social media use during natural disasters,environmental disasters,and other environmental concerns     

Kathryn C. Finch  Kassandra R. Snook  Carmen H. Duke  King-Wa Fu  Zion Tsz Ho Tse  Atin Adhikari  Isaac Chun-Hai Fung 《Natural Hazards》2016,83(1):729-760

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An integrated data-directed numerical method for estimating the undiscovered mineral endowment in a region     

Richard B. McCammon  Warren I. Finch  John O. Kork  Nancy J. Bridges 《Natural Resources Research》1994,3(2):109-122

An integrated data-directed numerical method has been developed to estimate the undiscovered mineral endowment within a given area. The method has been used to estimate the undiscovered uranium endowment in the San Juan Basin, New Mexico, U.S.A. The favorability of uranium concentration was evaluated in each of 2,068 cells defined within the Basin. Favorability was based on the correlated similarity of the geologic characteristics of each cell to the geologic characteristics of five area-related deposit models. Estimates of the undiscovered endowment for each cell were categorized according to deposit type, depth, and cutoff grade. The method can be applied to any mineral or energy commodity provided that the data collected reflect discovered endowment.  相似文献   

Metasomatic overprinting by juvenile igneous fluids,Igdlerfigsalik, South Greenland     

Adrian Finch 《Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology》1995,122(1-2):11-24

The late Igdlerfigsalik centre, part of the Igaliko nepheline syenite complex in the Gardar Province, S Greenland, is bounded to the N and E by compositionally similar, earlier syenites forming the early Igdlerfigsalik and South Qôroq centres. In a circa 1 km wide zone parallel to its contact with late Igdlerfigsalik, the South Qôroq centre shows recrystallisation and alteration of mafic phases. South Qôroq therefore comprises two zones, termed the “unaltered” and the “recrystallised” zones. A study of the biotites from the rocks of the area of the present study has demonstrated variations in biotite chemistry, notably variations in elements inferred to reside on the octahedral and hydroxyl sites. Samples were chosen to provide a representative selection from each centre, avoiding pegmatites and late-stage veins. Electron probe microanalyses demonstrate little Cl in these biotites. Fluorine contents of some biotites can be demonstrated to vary with Fe/(Fe+Mg) and ∑(octahedral Al and Ti). Statistical analysis of the data sets as a whole, however, does not demonstrate simple relationships between fluorine content and these parameters and more complex crystallographic controls over fluorine uptake are inferred. Despite these variations, the relative fluorine contents characteristic of each centre can be determined, which, it is believed, reflect the characteristic F activity of fluids associated with each period of magmatism. In South Qôroq, the unaltered zone has a distinctive F-content in biotite, reflecting the original F-content of fluids associated with South Qôroq magmatism. However in the recrystallised zone, the F-contents are distinct, more closely resembling F-contents characteristic of late Igdlerfigsalik rocks. Reaction between a fluorine-rich, younger fluid and older fluorine-poor rocks is inferred. Despite evidence in the micas for fluid-rock interaction, whole-rock chemical changes are irregular in nature and appear not to conform to simple trends. Mass-balance equations are therefore unable to predict the levels of fluid-rock interaction. Similar exchange between late-stage fluids from younger centres and pre-existing rocks may be commonplace in igneous plutonic environments, and fluorine in micas may provide a relatively sensitive guide to fluid-rock interactions.  相似文献   

The potential origins and palaeoenvironmental implications of high temporal resolution δO heterogeneity in coral skeletons     

Nicola Allison  Adrian A. Finch 《Geochimica et cosmochimica acta》2010,74(19):5537-322

δ¹⁸O was determined at high spatial resolution (beam diameter ∼30 μm) by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) across 1-2 year sections of 2 modern Porites lobata coral skeletons from Hawaii. We observe large (>2‰) cyclical δ¹⁸O variations that typically cover skeletal distances equivalent to periods of ∼20-30 days. These variations do not reflect seawater temperature or composition and we conclude that skeletal δ¹⁸O is principally controlled by other processes. Calcification site pH in one coral record was estimated from previous SIMS measurements of skeletal δ¹¹B. We model predicted skeletal δ¹⁸O as a function of calcification site pH, DIC residence time at the site and DIC source (reflecting the inputs of seawater and molecular CO₂ to the site). We assume that oxygen isotopic equilibration proceeds at the rates observed in seawater and that only the aqueous carbonate ion is incorporated into the precipitating aragonite. We reproduce successfully the observed skeletal δ¹⁸O range by assuming that DIC is rapidly utilised at the calcification site (within 1 h) and that ∼80% of the skeletal carbonate is derived from seawater. If carbonic anhydrase catalyses the reversible hydration of CO₂ at the calcification site, then oxygen isotopic equilibration times may be substantially reduced and a larger proportion of the skeletal carbonate could be derived from molecular CO₂. Seasonal skeletal δ¹⁸O variations are most pronounced in the skeleton deposited from late autumn to winter (and coincide with the high density skeletal bands) and are dampened in skeleton deposited from spring to summer. We observed no annual pattern in sea surface temperature or photosynthetically active radiation variability which could potentially correlate with the coral δ¹⁸O. At present we are unable to resolve an environmental cue to drive seasonal patterns of short term skeletal δ¹⁸O heterogeneity.  相似文献