^(18)O/^(16)O and D/H studies on the interactions between heated meteoric ground waters and igneous intrusions: Western San Juan Mountains, Colorado and the Isle of Skye, Scotland

Detailed oxygen, hydrogen and carbon isotope studies have been carried out on igneous and metamorphic rocks of the Stony Mountain complex, Colorado, and the Isle of Skye, Scotland, in order to better understand the problems of hydrothermal meteoric water-rock interaction.

The Tertiary Stony Mountain stock (~1.3 km in diameter), is composed of an outer diorite, a main mass of biotite gabbro, and an inner diorite. The entire complex and most of the surrounding country rocks have experienced various degrees of ¹⁸O depletion (up to 10 per mil) due to interaction with heated meteoric waters. The inner diorite apparently formed from a low-¹⁸O magma with δ¹⁸O ≃ +2.5, but most of the isotopic effects are a result of exchange between H₂O and solidified igneous rocks. The low-¹⁸O inner diorite magma was probably produced by massive assimilation and/or melting of hydrothermally altered country rocks. The δ¹⁸O values of the rocks generally increase with increasing grain size, except that quartz typically has δ¹⁸O = +6 to +8, and is more resistant to hydrothermal exchange than any other mineral studied. Based on atom % oxygen, the outer diorites, gabbros, and volcanic rocks exhibit integrated water/rock ratios of 0.3 ± 0.2, 0.15 ± 0.1, and 0.2 ± 0.1, respectively. Locally, water/rock ratios attain values greater than 1.0. Hydrogen isotopic analyses of sericites, chlorites, biotites, and amphiboles range from -117 to -150. δD in biotites varies inversely with Fe/Fe+Mg, as predicted by Suzuoki and Epstein (1974), and positively with elevation, over a range of 600 m. The calculated δD of the mid-to-late-Tertiary meteoric waters is about -100. Carbonate δ¹³C values average -5.5 (PDB), within the generally accepted range for deep-seated carbon.

Almost all the rocks within 4 km of the central Tertiary intrusive complex of Skye are depleted in ¹⁸O. Whole-rock δ¹⁸O values of basalts (-7. 1 to +8.4), Mesozoic shales (-0.6 to + 12.4), and Precambrian sandstones (-6.2 to + 10.8) systematically decrease inward towards the center of the complex. The Cuillin gabbro may have formed from a ¹⁸O-depleted magma (depleted by about 2 per mil); δ¹⁸O of plagioclase (-7.1 to + 2.5) and pyroxene (-0.5 to + 3.2) decrease outward toward the margins of the pluton. The Red Hills epigranite plutons have δ¹⁸O quartz (-2.7 to + 7.6) and feldspar (-6.7 to + 6.0) that suggest about 3/4 of the exchange took place at subsolidus temperatures; profound disequilibrium quartz-feldspar fractionations (up to 12) are characteristic. The early epigranites were intruded as low-¹⁸O melts (depletions of up to 3 per mil) with δ¹⁸O of the primary, igneous quartz decreasing progressively with time. The Southern Porphyritic Epigranite was apparently intruded as a low-¹⁸O magma with δ¹⁸O ≃ -2.6. A good correlation exists between grain size and δ¹⁸O for the unique, high-¹⁸O Beinn an Dubhaich granite which intrudes limestone having a δ¹⁸O range of +0.5 to +20.8, and δ¹³C of -4.9 to -1.0. The δD values of sericites (-104 to -107), and amphiboles, chlorites, and biotites (-105 to -128) from the igneous rocks , indicate that Eocene surface waters at Skye had δD ≃ -90. The average water/rock ratio for the Skye hydrothermal system is approximately one; at least 2000 km³ of heated meteoric waters were cycled through these rocks.

Thus these detailed isotopic studies of two widely separated areas indicate that (1) ¹⁸O-depleted magmas are commonly produced in volcanic terranes invaded by epizonal intrusions; (2) most of the ¹⁸O-depletion in such areas are a result of subsolidus exchange (particularly of feldspars); however correlation of δ¹⁸O with grain size is generally preserved only for systems that have undergone relatively minor meteoric hydrothermal exchange; (3) feldspar and calcite are the minerals mos t susceptible to oxygen isotopic exchange, whereas quartz is very resistant to oxygen isotope exchange; biotite, magnetite, and pyroxene have intermediate susceptibilities; and (4) basaltic country rocks are much more permeable to the hydrothermal convective system than shale, sandstone, or the crystalline basement complex.

Structural geology of the region between Pacoima and Little Tujunga Canyons, San Gabriel Mountains, California

An area of about 25 square miles in the western part of the San Gabriel Mountains was mapped on a scale of 1000 feet to the inch. Special attention was given to the structural geology, particularly the relations between the different systems of faults, of which the San Gabriel fault system and the Sierra Madre fault system are the most important ones. The present distribution and relations of the rocks suggests that the southern block has tilted northward against a more stable mass of old rocks which was raised up during a Pliocene or post-Pliocene orogeny. It is suggested that this northward tilting of the block resulted in the group of thrust faults which comprise the Sierra Madre fault system. It is show that this hypothesis fits the present distribution of the rocks and occupies a logical place in the geologic history of the region as well or better than any other hypothesis previously offered to explain the geology of the region.

San Gabriel Valley sewerage system

The disposal of sewage is the most important item in public sanitation. It is the most important present day problem in every city whether large or small. The direct cause of the majority of epidemics is the contamination of the water supply of the city by the excreta of man or animal. Public health varies directly as public sanitation, and if the public sanitation be good, the liability of sickness caused by contamination of the water supply is greatly lessened. When a city outgrows its sewerage system the public health becomes endangered. There are two causes for the increased amount of sewerage, increase in population and increase in industrial and manufacturing wastes. The main problem in this connection is the ultimate disposal of the matter which reaches the sewers.

San Francisco : a city reinvented by creative innovation

The aim of this paper is to analyse the recent evolution of the city of San Francisco to outline the major features that have made it possible this continuing process of creative innovation in the city. In order to meet this objective, the project is framed around answering two key research questions: (1) what are the main economic and social elements that characterise urban change in the city of San Francisco and (2) which is the role of public strategies in the continuing economic success of San Francisco. The paper concludes that the successful performance of San Francisco is the result of the actions taken by many agents in the city, but the role of public authorities, especially the City and County, must be stressed, both through direct intervention and by coordinating, fostering and supporting the private and non-profit sectors. This is especially relevant in a country like the US where private initiative has been seen in many occasions as the greatest driver of economic and social success. Yet, the performance of San Francisco City cannot be explained without the role played by the public sector, in coordination with the civil society