ALBERT

Description / Table of Contents: "Our changing climate is the fourth in a series of publication on climate and global change intended for public education. The documents are a collaborative effort of the UCAR Joint Office for Science Support and NOAA Office of Global Programs, for the purpose of raising the level of public awareness of issues dealing with global environmental change."

Description / Table of Contents: Investigations of ground radar performance over thawed and seasonally frozen silts, and sands and gravels containing artificial and natural reflectors were carried out in Alaska. The radar emitted 5-10 ns pulses, the center frequency of which was approximately 150 MHz. The artificial reflectors were metal sheets and discs and the natural reflectors were the groundwater table and interfaces between frozen and thawed material. The water table was profiled at three sites where the subsurface material was coarse-grained alluvium. Dielectric constants of 16 to 18 were measured for the thawed silts, 6 to 7 for the frozen silts and 3 to 9 for the sands and gravels. Signal penetration in the thawed high moisture content silts may be achieved only by use of a lower frequency radar, whereas in the sands and gravels greater depths may be detected with more sophisticated signal processing.

Description / Table of Contents: A sea ice model was applied to the East Greenland Sea to examine a 60-day ice advance period beginning 1 October 1979. This investigation compares model results using driving geostrophic wind fields derived from three sources. Winds calculated from sea-level pressures obtained from the National Weather Service's operational analysis system resulted in strong velocities concentrated in a narrow band adjacent to the Greenland coast, with moderate velocities elsewhere. The model showed excessive ice transport and thickness build-ups in the coastal region. The extreme pressure gradient parallel to the coast resulted partially from a pressure reduction procedure that was applied to the terrain-following sigma coordinate system to obtain sea-level pressures. Additional sea-level pressure fields were obtained from an independent optimal interpolation analysis that merged FGGE buoys drifting in the Arctic basin with high latitude land stations and from manual digitization of the NWS hand-analyzed Northern Hemisphere Surface Charts. Modeling results using winds from both of these fields agreed favorably.

Description / Table of Contents: Secondary recovery of oil at Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, will involve transporting large quantities of seawater in elevated pipelines across tundra for injection into oil-bearing rock strata. The possibility of a pipeline rupture raises questions concerning the effects of seawater on tundra vegetation and soils. To evaluate the relative sensitivities of different plant communities to seawater, eight sites representing the range of vegetation types along the pipeline route were treated with single, saturating applications of seawater during the summer of 1980. Within a month of the treatment 30 of 37 taxa of shrubs and forbs in the experimental plots developed clear symptoms of stress, while none of the 14 graminoid taxa showed apparent adverse affects. Live vascular plant cover was thus reduced by 89 and 91% in the two dry sites and by 54, 74 and 83% in the three moist sites, respectively. Live(green) bryophyte cover was markedly reduced in the moist experimental sites in 1981. Bryophytes in all but one of the wet-site experimental plots were apparently unaffected by the seawater treatment. Two species of foliose lichens treated with seawater showed marked deterioration in 1981. All other lichen taxa were apparently unaffected by the seawater treatment. The absorption and retention of salts by the soil is inversely related to the soil moisture regime. In the wet sites, conductivities approached prespill levels within about 30 days. In such sites, spills at the experimental volumes are quickly diluted and the salts flushed from the soil. In the dry sites, on the other hand, salts are retained in the soil, apparently concentrating at or near the seasonal thaw line.

Description / Table of Contents: A literature review indicated that the effects or permafrost on streambank erodibility and stability are not yet understood because systematic and quantitative measurements are seriously lacking. Consequently, general controversy exists as to whether perennially frozen ground inhibits lateral erosion and bankline recession, or whether it increases bank recession rates. Perennially frozen streambanks erode because of modification of the bank's thermal regime by exposure to air and water, and because of various erosional processes. Factors that determine rates and locations of erosion include physical, thermal and structural properties of bank sediments, stream hydraulics and climate. Thermal and physical modification of streambanks may also induce accelerated erosion within permafrost terrain removed from the immediate river environment. Bankline or bluffline recession rates are highly variable, ranging from less than 1 m/year to over 30 m/year and, exceptionally, to over 60 m/year. Long-term observations of the physical and thermal erosion processes and systematic ground surveys and measurements of bankline-bluffline recession rates are needed.

Description / Table of Contents: Measurements and analysis of seasonal ice growth and decay on Post Pond, New Hampshire, for the period 1973-1982 are presented. Observations included ice thickness measurements, examination of the various ice types contributing to the ice cover, and measurements of meteorological parameters for correlation with and modeling of the ice growth process. The overall nature of ice growth and decay (ice loss) on the Post Pond has been ascertained, the seasonal variability in the timing of freeze-up and ice-out and the duration of the ice cover have been determined, and the relationship of ice growth to freezing-degree-day (deg C) records evaluated on the basis of a Stefan conduction equation modified to deal with ice sheets covered with or free of snow. Ice growth occurs predominantly by the direct freezing of lake water, but snow ice may compose as much as 50% of the ice cover in winters with higher than average snowfall. Freeze-up leading to the establishment of a stable ice cover occurs during the 4-week period from the end of November to the end of December. Maximum seasonal ice thicknesses were from 45 to 67 cm and are generally attained during the first two weeks of March; ice-out, marking the final disappearance of ice from Post Pond, usually occurs by the third week of April. The overall rate of the ice loss is three to four times that of ice growth, and is dominated initially by melting from the top. As much as 50% of the ice may be lost in this way before the onset of any bottom melting. Final dissipation of the ice cover is usually expedited by candling resulting from preferential melting and disintegration of the ice at crystal boundaries.

Description / Table of Contents: An evaluation of an impulse radar system for detecting cavities under concrete pavement is discussed, and field results are presented. It was found that a dual antenna mode of surveying was ideal for void detection. In this mode one antenna operated in a transceive mode and a second, offset from the first, operated in a receive-only mode. This arrangement allowed a refraction-type profile survey to be performed, which enabled subpavement voids to be easily detected. Field trails were held at Plattsburgh Air Force Base, where 28 cavities were detected and mapped. Drilling of holes verified that a cavity existed and allowed cavity depth to be measured. The cavities varied from 1.5 in. to 23 in, depth and were up to 20 ft. long.

Description / Table of Contents: A review on past experimental and theoretical work indicates a need for additional experimentation to characterize the response of snow to inelastic pressure waves. Pressure data from previously conducted explosion tests are analyzed to estimate the elastic limit of snow of 400 -kg/cu m density to be about 36 kPa. This pressure corresponds to a scaled distance of 1.6 m/cu.rt.kg for charges fired beneath the surface of the snow, and to a scaled distance of 1.2 m/cu.rt.kg for charges fired in the air. The effects of a snow cover on the method of clearing a minefield by using an explosive charge fired in the air above the snow surface are also discussed and recommendations are given for further work in this area. Explosive pressure data are used to estimate the maximum effective scaled radius for detonating buried mines at shallow depth to be 0.8 m/cu.rt.kg. Fuel-air explosive will increase this effective radius significantly because of the increase in the size of the source region.

Description / Table of Contents: Recent observations of shore ice pile-up and ride-up along the coast of the Alaska Beaufort Sea are presented. Information is given to show that sea ice movement on shore has overridden steep coastal bluffs and has thrust inland over 150 m, gouging into and pushing up mounds of beach sand, gravel, boulders and peat and, inland, the tundra material. The resulting ice scar morphology was found to remain for tens of years. Onshore ice movements up to 20 m are relatively common, but those over 100 m are very infrequent. Spring is a dangerous time, when sea ice melts away from the shore, allowing ice to move freely. Under this condition, driving stresses of less than 100 kPa can push thick sea ice onto the land.

Description / Table of Contents: During the austral summers of 1976-77 and 1978-79, several ice cores were taken from the McMurdo Ice Shelf brine zone to investigate its thermal, physical and chemical properties. This brine zone consists of a series of super-imposed brine layers (waves) that originate at the seaward edge of the ice shelf and migrate at various rates, depending upon their age and position in the ice shelf. The brine in these layers becomes increasingly concentrated as the waves migrate inland through the permeable ice shelf firn. Chemical analyses of brine samples from the youngest (uppermost) brine wave show that it contains sea salts in normal seawater proportions. Further inland, deeper and older brine layers, though highly saline (S 〉 200 ‰), are severely depleted in SO2-4 with the SO2-4/Na+ ratio being an order of magnitude less than that of normal seawater. Analyses of Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, SO2-4 and CI-, together with solubility and temperature considerations, show that the sulfate depletion is due to selective precipitation of mirabilite, Na2SO4*10H2O. The location of the inland boundary of brine penetration is closely related to the depth at which the brine en-counters the firn/ice transition. However, a small but measurable migration of brine is still occurring in otherwise impermeable ice; this is attributed to eutectic dissolution of the ice by concentrated brine as it moves into deeper and warmer parts of the McMurdo Ice Shelf.

Description / Table of Contents: Peak power generation with hydropower creates tailwater flow conditions characterized by high and low flows with abrupt transitions between these states. Flows occurring in tailwaters typically form sharp-fronted, large-amplitude waves of relatively short period. An understanding of the mechanics of downstream propagation of these waves is important both for direct application in studies of the tailwater and because of the similarity of these waves to those following a dam break. An analysis of the dynamic equations of open channel flow is used to quantify the relative importance of flow wave convection, diffusion and dispersion in rivers. The relative importance of each process is re­lated to the relative magnitude of terms in the dynamic equations, providing a physical basis for model formulation. A one-dimensional diffusion wave flow routing model, modified for tailwaters, simulates the important physical pro­cesses affecting the flow and is straightforward to apply. The model is based upon a numerical solution of the kine­matic wave equation. The “modified equation,” Hirt, and von Neumann analyses are used to gain insight into the stability and dissipative and dispersive behavior of the numerical solution, and results of these analyses are compared. A set of linear routings is used to demonstrate the dissipative and dispersive behavior predicted by the analyses and to verify the accuracy of an expression that quantifies the numerical diffusion of the model. The analyses provide a basis for selection of numerical parameters for model applications. The capability and accuracy of the model are enhanced when physical wave diffusion is balanced by numerical diffusion in the model. Maintaining the diffusion balance re­quires that the time derivative weighting parameter 0 be variable and in some instances negative. Though some amount of phase error is introduced, negative 0 values have no adverse effect upon model stability. Field studies were con­ducted to demonstrate the benefits of careful model development and analysis, and to verify the diffusion wave model for rapidly varying tailwater flow. The bed slope and roughness characteristics of the field study reaches (below Apalachia and Norris Dams) differ greatly, spanning those of a large number of rivers of practical interest. The accurate simulation of flow in both of these tailwaters attests to the soundness of both the physical basis of the model and the numerical solution technique. The field studies confirm, for the extreme case of rapidly varying flow in a mildly sloped river, that inertia has a negligible effect upon unsteady flow waves at low Froude numbers. Additionally, these studies verify that diffusion of short-period waves in rivers is generally significant.

Description / Table of Contents: This report presents the results of dynamic ice-structure interaction model tests conducted at the CRREL Ice Engineering Facility. A flexible, single-pile, bottom-founded offshore structure was simulated by a test pile with about a one-to-ten scale ratio. Urea (instead of sodium chloride) was used as dopant to scale down the ice properties, resulting in good model ice properties. Six ice fields were frozen and 18 tests carried out. In all cases distinctive dynamic ice structure interaction vibrations appeared, from which abundant data were collected. In tests with linear ice velocity sweep, sawtooth-shaped ice force fluctuations occurred first. With increasing velocity the natural modes of the test pile were excited, and shifts from one mode to another occurred. The maximum ice force values appeared mostly with low loading rates, but high forces appeared random'y at high ice velocities. As a general trend, ice force maximums, averages and standard deviations decreased with increasing ice velocities. The aspect ratio effect of the ice force in continuous crushing follows the same dependence as in static loadings. The frequency of observed ice forces is strongly dominated by the natural modes of the structure. Dynamically unstable natural modes tend to make the developing ice force frequencies the same as the natural frequencies. Otherwise the resulting frequency depends directly on structural stiffness and ice velocity and inversely on the ice force range. During vibrations the displacement rates of the structure overcome the velocity of ice, making low loading rates and hence high ice forces possible. During crushing, ice induces both positive and negative damping.

Description / Table of Contents: The presence of snow on the ground can impose limitations on the mobility of wheeled and tracked vehicles. Snow depth and density are the two most easily measured snow properties that can be related to mobility over snow. Existing models of snowpack accumulation and ablation processes and models of internal snowpack structure were examined to determine if a model of the snowpack can be developed for use in predicting the snow parameters that affect mobility. Simple models, such as temperature index models, do not provide sufficient snowpack details, and the more detailed models require too many measured inputs. Components of the various models were selected from a basis of a snowpack model for predicting snow properties related to mobility over snow. Methods of obtaining the input data from some components are suggested, and areas where more development is needed are described.

Description / Table of Contents: The problems associated with measuring stresses in ice are reviewed. Theory and laboratory test results are then presented for a stiff cylindrical sensor made of steel that is designed to measure ice stresses in a biaxial stress field. Loading tests on freshwater and saline ice blocks containing the biaxial ice stress sensor indicate that the sensor has a resolution of 20 kPa and an accuracy of better than 15% under a variety of uniaxial and biaxial loading conditions. Principal stress directions can also be determined within 5 degrees. The biaxial ice stress sensor is not significantly affected by variations in the ice elastic modulus, ice creep or differential thermal expansion between the ice and gauge. The sensor also has a low temperature sensitivity (5 kPa/deg C).

Description / Table of Contents: Ice accreted on high-speed rotors operating in supercooled fog can be thrown off by centrifugal force, creating severe unbalance and dangerous projectiles. A simple force balance analysis indicates that the strength of accreted ice and its adhesive strength can be obtained by measuring the thickness of the accretion, the location of the separation, the rotor speed, and the density. Such an analysis was applied to field and laboratory observations of self-shedding events. The results agree reasonably well with other observations.

Description / Table of Contents: Clays and soils are of great importance in various scientific fields, such as agriculture and environmental science, and in mineral deposits. Students and close collaborators of Georges Millot, the eminent French clay sedimentologist, have put together a book with topics ranging from weathering processes and diagenetic evalution of sediments to sedimentary mineral deposits. The book is of interest to practitioners, advanced students as well as teachers in the above fields

Description / Table of Contents: This volume contains papers presented at the Geological Society on March 25th and 26th 1981, plus three additional contributions by researchers who were unable to be present at the meeting. The meeting brought together earth scientists with interests in geomorphology, geochemistry, pedology, sedimentology and applied geology. The multidisciplinary approach to the study of residual deposits is reflected in the 25 chapters of this book, which are arranged in four main groups: Weathering processes (chapters 1-3); Kaolinites, laterites and bauxites (chapters 4-11); Red beds (chapters 12-14); Duricrusts: calcretes, silcretes and gypcretes (chapters 15-25). The last two chapters of the book deal with karst related fluorite-baryte deposits, and Cenozoic pedogenesis and landform develop- ment in south-east England. Richard Crockett, Andrew Goudie and Don Highley provided invaluable suggestions during the planning of the meeting that led to this book. R. C. L. WILSON,Department of Earth Sciences, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA.

Description / Table of Contents: Water flow in frozen soils is closely linked to the heat dynamics in the soil-snowatmosphere system. Therefore, a detailed understanding of both thermal and hydraulic processes, as well as the way they are linked is required to quantify and predict the fluxes during freezing and snowmelt. This thesis focuses on different key processes with regard to water dynamics in frozen soils: (a) the heat exchange at the snow surface, (b) the snowmelt infiltration, (c) the freezing characteristic curve, and (d) the frost-induced solute redistribution. Experimental studies were conducted both in the laboratory, using small soil columns and in the field, on soil plots of 4 m2 Oysimeters) and on an arable field of 6 ha. A one-dimensional numerical SV AT-model (SOIL) with a new two-domain concept for water flow in partly frozen soils was applied to these experiments. Measurements of soil water content (total and liquid), soil temperature, groundwater level and solute concentration as continuous time-series provided valuable information about the physical dynamics in the soil during cycles of freezing and thawing. For a shallow or patchy snowcover the simulation of soil frost was very sensitive to the surface energy balance and the snow depth and required accurate precipitation and radiation measurements. The two-domain infiltration model reproduced the field observations better than a single-domain model and gave more flexibility when simulating different field conditions. However, it also increased the model sensitivity. Major sources of uncertainty were the frost-induced water redistribution, the hydraulic conductivity of the initially air-filled pores and the freezing rate of the infiltrating water in the frozen soil. Accurate measurements of soil hydraulic properties were essential for calibrating the model for new soils. Further development of the model will have to include a more sophisticated description of the snow processes and the solute transport in order to be able to address key environmental problems.

Description / Table of Contents: Ice forces on a bridge pier in the Ottauquechee River, in Quechee, Vermont, were measured by installing fourpanels-each capable of measuring forces in the normal and tangential direction - on both sides of a vertical V-shaped pier nose. The measured forces are presented for a short period during an ice run. After the ice run, the thickness and sizes of the ice floes were measured and the compressive strength of the ice was determined in the laboratory from the ice samples collected along the river banks. The water level measurements made at several locations along theriver are also presented for the period of the ice run.

Description / Table of Contents: A numerical model of rime ice accretion on an arbitrary two-dimensional airfoil is presented. The physics of the model are described and results are presented that demonstrate, by comparison with other theoretical data and experimental data, that the model predictions are believable. Results are also presented that illustrate the capability of the model to handle time-dependent rime ice accretion, taking into account the feedback between the ice accretion and the airflow and droplet trajectory fields.

Description / Table of Contents: Roof snow load case studies gathered throughout the United States over a three-year period are analyzed. The objective of the analysis is to determine a relationship between the snow load on the ground and the corresponding uniform snow load on flat and sloped roofs. The main parameters considered are the thermal characteristics of the roof, the roof slope and the exposure of the structure. Exposure has the strongest effect on the ratio of ground to roof snow loads. Comparisons are made with existing and proposed building codes and standards.

Description / Table of Contents: Ice sheets are formed and retained in several ways in nature, and an understanding of these factors is needed before most structures can be successfully applied. Many ice sheet retention structures float and are somewhat flexible; others are fixed and rigid or semirigid. An example of the former is the Lake Erie ice boom and of the latter, the Montreal ice control structure. Ice sheet retention technology is changing. The use of timber cribs is gradually but not totally giving way to sheet steel pilings and concrete cells. New structures and applications are being tried but with caution. Ice-hydraulic analyses are helpful in predicting the effects of structures and channel modifications on ice cover formation and retention. Often, varying the flow rate in a particular system at the proper time will make the difference between whether a structure will or will not retain ice. The structure, however, invariably adds reliability to the sheet ice retention process.

Description / Table of Contents: A mathematical model is described that is used to determine the maximum ice conveyance capacity of a river channel. Based upon this model, computer programs were developed that enable the ice discharge to be calculated for steady-state flow conditions. For rivers that have uniform flow, the maximum ice-conveying capacity can be described with a simple function expressed in terms of the size of the ice fragments, channel geometry, and the flow of water in the river. For nonuniform flows, the computer program determines the elevation profile of the surface layer in addition to other flow characteristics, such as the velocity and surface concentration of the ice fragments. The location along this surface profile where the ice conveyance capacity becomes less than the upstream supply is determined and is considered to be the position where a surface ice jam or ice bridge will be formed.

Description / Table of Contents: The probability density function of the gouge depths into the sediment is represented by a simple negative exponential over four decades of gouge frequency. The exceedance probability function is, therefore, e to the -lambda d, where d is the gouge depth in meters and lambda is a constant. The value of lambda shows a general decrease with increasing water depth, from 9/m in shallow water to less than 3/m in water 30 to 35 m deep. The deepest gouge observed was 3.6 m, from a sample of 20,354 gouges that have depths greater than or equal to 0.2 m. The dominant gouge orientations are usually unimodal and reasonably clustered, with the most frequent alignments roughly parallel to the general trend to the coastline. The value of N(bar) sub 1, the mean number of gouges (deeper than 0.2 m) per kilometer measured normal to the trend of the gouges, varies from 0.2 for protected lagoons to 80 in water between 20 and 38 m deep in unprotected offshore regions. The distribution of the spacings between gouges as measured along a sampling track is a negative exponential. The form of the frequency distribution of N sub 1 varies with water depth and is exponential for lagoons and shallow offshore areas, previously skewed for 10 to 20 m depths off the barrier islands, and near-normal for deeper water. As a Poisson distribution gives a reasonable fit to the N sub 1 distributions for all water depths, it is suggested that gouging can be taken as approximating a Poisson process in both space and time. The distributions of the largest values per kilometer of gouge depths, gouge widths, and the heights of the lateral embankment of sediments plowed from the gouges are also investigated.

Description / Table of Contents: This paper documents the development and verification of two finite difference models that solve the general two-dimensional form of the heat conduction equation, using the alternative-direction implicit method. Both can handle convective, constant flux, specified temperature and semi-infinite boundaries. The conducting medium may be composed of many materials. The first program, ADI, solves for the case where no change of state occurs. ADIPC solves for case where a freeze/thaw change of phase may occur, using the apparent heat capacity method. Both models are verified by comparison to analytical results.

Description / Table of Contents: An analysis of ice fracture that incorporates dislocation mechanics and linear elastic fracture mechanics is discussed. The derived relationships predict a brittle to ductile transition in polycrystalline ice under tension with a Hall-Petch type dependence of brittle fracture strength on grain size. A uniaxial tensile testing technique, including specimen preparation and loading system design was developed and employed to verify the model. The tensile strength of ice in purely brittle fracture was found to vary with the square root of the reciprocal of grain size, supporting the relationship that the theory suggests. The inherent strength of the ice lattice and the Hall-Petch slope are evaluated and findings discussed in relation to previous results. Monitoring of acoustic emissions was incorporated in the tests, providing insights into the process of microfracture during ice deformation.

Description / Table of Contents: A new experimental method for measuring the soil-water diffusivity of frozen soil under isothermal conditions is introduced. The theoretical justification of the method is presented and the feasibility of the method is demonstrated by experiments conducted using marine-deposited clay. The measured values of the soil-water diffusivity are found comparable to reported experimental data.

Description / Table of Contents: Ice action on two cylindrical and conical structures, located side by side, was investigated in a small-scale experimental study to determine the interference on the ice forces generated during ice-structure interaction. The proximity of the two structures changes the mode of ice failure, the magnitude and direction of ice forces on the individual structure, and the dominant frequency of ice force variations. Interference effects were determined by comparing the experimental results of tests at different structure spacings.

Description / Table of Contents: A thermodynamic model has been developed that for the first time describes the entire creep process, including primary, secondary, and tertiary creep, and failure for both constant stress (CSR) tests (σ= const.) and constant strain rate (CSR) tests (ϵ = const.), in the form of a unified constitutive equation and unified failure criteria. Deformation and failure areconsidered as a single thermoactivated process in which the dominant role belongs to the change of entropy. Failure occurs when the entropy change is zero. At that moment the strain rates in CS tests reach the minima and stress in CSR tests reaches the maximum (peak) values. Families of creep (ϵ vs τ) and stress-strain (σ vs ϵ) curves, obtained from uni-axial compression CS and CSR tests of frozen soil, respectively (both presented in dimensionless coordinates), are plotted as straight lines and are superposed, confirming the unity of the deformation and failure process and the validity of the model. A method is developed for determining the parameters of the model, so that creep deformation and the stress-strain relationship of ductile materials such as soils can be predicted based upon information obtained from either type of test.

Description / Table of Contents: In the course of model tests with urea-doped ice in the CRREL Ice Engineering Facility test basin, the growth process and the physical and mechanical properties of the model ice were investigated. The parameters which were varied were: urea concentration in the tank water, air temperature during growth, growth duration, and tempering time. Uniformity of ice thickness and ice mechanical properties over the whole tank area were found to be satisfactory. The structure of the urea-doped ice was found to be similar to that of the ice except for a relatively thick incubation layer over a dendritic bottom layer. Empirical relationships were established between: ice thickness and negative degree-hours; mechanical properties and growth temperature, urea concentration, and ice thickness; and reduction in mechanical properties and tempting time. The results of the study are presented in charts which permit reliable scheduling of model tests with required ice thickness and ice flexural strength.

Description / Table of Contents: Small-scale laboratory experiments were conducted on model bridge piers in the CRREL test basin. The experiments were performed by pushing model ice sheets against structures and monitoring the ice forces during the ice/structure interaction. The parameters, varied during the test program, were the geometry of the bridge piers and the velocity, thickness, and flexural strength of the ice. The results are presented in the form of ice forces on sloping and vertical structures with different geometries. During ice action on sloping structures, a phenomenon of transition of failure mode from bending to crushing was observed as the ice velocity was steadily increased.

Description / Table of Contents: Although the search for oil and gas in Europe, particularly in the North Sea, has been very successful, it has become progressively more difficult and costly in recent years. The need for continuing exploration success in finding accumulations of hydrocarbons has created a climate which favours the use of modern scientific and technological methods and techniques. Amongst these is petroleum geochemistry. Applications of petroleum geochemistry (integrated with petroleum geology) in petroleum exploration has drastically changed in recent years from a post-mortem science to a widely accepted exploration predictive tool.

Description / Table of Contents: Geochemistry is a science that is based on an understanding of chemical processes in the earth. One of the principal tools available to the chemist for understanding systems at equilibrium is thermodynamics. The awareness and application of thermodynamic techniques has increased at a very fast pace in geosciences; in fact, one may be so bold as to say that thermodynamics in geology has reached the "mature" stage, although much future thermodynamic research is certainly needed. However, the natural processes in the earth are often sluggish enough that a particular system may not reach equilibrium. This observation is being supported constantly by new experimental and field data available to the geochemist e.g. the non-applicability of the phase rule in some assemblages, the compositional inhomogeneities of mineral grains, the partial reaction rims surrounding original minerals, the lack of isotopic equilibration or the absence of minerals (e.g. dolomite), which should be present according to thermodynamics. The need to apply kinetics has produced a large number of papers dealing with kinetics in geochemistry. As an initial response to this growing field, a conference on geochemical transport and kinetics was conducted at Airlie House, VA, in 1973, sponsored by the Carnegie Institution of Washington. The papers there dealt with several kinetic topics including diffusion, exsolution, metasomatism and metamorphic layering. Since 1973 the number of kinetic papers has continued to increase greatly. Therefore, the time is ripe for a Short Course in Kinetics, which brings together the fundamentals needed to explain field observations using kinetic data. It is hoped that this book may serve, not only as a reference for researchers dealing with the rates of geochemical processes, but also as a text in courses on geochemical kinetics. One of us has found this need of a text in teaching a graduate course on geochemical kinetics at Harvard and at Penn State during the past several years. Finally, it is our hope that the book may itself further even more research into the rates of geochemical processes and into the quantification of geochemical observations. The book is organized with a rough temperature gradient in mind, i.e. low temperature kinetics at the beginning and igneous kinetics at the end (no prejudices are intended with this scheme!). However, the topics in each chapter are general enough that they can be applied often to any geochemical domain: sedimentary, metamorphic or igneous. The theory of kinetics operates at two complementary levels: the phenomenological and the atomistic. The former relies on macroscopic variables (e.g. temperature or concentrations) to describe the rates of reactions or the rates of transport; the latter relates the rates to the basic forces operating between the particular atomic or molecular species of any system. This book deals with both descriptions of the kinetics of geochemical processes. Chapter one sets the framework for the phenomenological theory of reaction rates. If any geochemical reaction is to be described quantitatively, the rate law must be experimentally obtained in a kinetically sound manner and the reaction mechanism must be understood. This applies to heterogeneous fluid-rock reactions such as those occurring during metamorphism, hydrothermal alteration or weathering as well as to homogeneous reactions. Chapter 2 extends the theory to the global kinetics of geochemical cycles. This enables the kinetic concepts of stability and feedback to be applied to the cycling of elements in the many reservoirs of the earth. Chapter 3 applies the phenomenological treatment of chapter 1 to diagenesis and weathering. The rate of dissolution of minerals as well as the chemical evolution of pore waters are discussed. The atomistic basis of rates of reaction, transition state theory, is introduced in Chapter 4. Transition state theory can be applied to relate the rate constants of geochemical reactions to the atomic processes taking place. This includes not only homogeneous reactions but also reactions that occur at the surface of minerals. Chapter 5 discusses the theory of irreversible thermodynamics and its application to petrology. The use of the second law of thermodynamics along with the expressions for the rate of entropy production in a system have been used successfully since 1935 to describe kinetic phenomena. The chapter applies the concepts to the growth of minerals during metamorphism as well as to the formation of differentiated layers (banding) in petrology. Chapter 6 describes the phenomenological theory of diffusion both in aqueous solutions and in minerals. In particular, the multicomponent nature of diffusion and its consequence in natural systems is elaborated. Chapter 7 provides the atomistic basis for the rates of reactions in minerals. Understanding of the rates of diffusion, conduction, order-disorder reactions or exsolution in minerals depends on proper description of the defects in the various mineral structures. Chapter 8 provides the kinetic theory of crystal nucleation and growth. While many of the concepts in the chapter can be applied to aqueous systems, the emphasis is on igneous processes occurring during crystallization of a melt. To fully understand both the mineral composition as well as the texture of igneous rocks, the processes whereby new crystals form and grow must be quantified by using kinetic theory. Due to space and time limitations (kinetics!) some topics have not been covered in detail. In particular, the mathematical solution of diffusion or conduction equations is discussed very well by Crank in his book, Mathematics of Diffusion, and so is not covered to a great extent here. The treatment of fluid flow (e.g. convection) is also not covered in the text.