Geology identification

Possible) identification of causes of plant deterioration Showing up dynamic currents of stream meanders Penetration into water, study of shallows Recognition of details in shady regions (from ground only, not from air or satellite) Geological identification... 

This system for keeping track of these important units is used as the basis for the standard geologic lime and the evolution of the animal life on earth. (See also Tables 2-26 and 2-27.) Table 2-28 gives the relationship between geologic time and important physical and evolutionary events that are used to aid in the identification of rock units in relative geologic time [26]. 

Identification of high risk areas through a program to assist States in conducting surveys to identify these areas, and through the development of predictive geological models. 

The ability to provide data on the isotopic composition of analyte elements, is a further special feature of the technique. This has already been exploited in a number of ways, including geological dating and the identification of sources of environmental lead contamination and poisoning. The radiogeneric source of lead means that different deposits may have different isotopic composition. In the UK this feature has been used to... 

The results from VIRS analyses are amenable to several methods of interpretation. In the simplest sense, the spectra can be used as empirical measurements on given rock types or formations, without specific reference to the causative minerals. We have found that superficially identical rock types with different geological contexts can in some cases be effectively characterized and discriminated. The comparison of measured spectra with reference spectra from minerals is the main tool used for identification, and is very effective in cases where samples are monomineralic or dominated by a single infrared active species. The size of the area analyzed is 1 cm in diameter. Computer programs with variable levels of automation can speed the process of identification, but... 

For the reasons outlined above, outcrops of workable obsidian are relatively few in number and are restricted to areas of geologically recent lava flows. Most sources are therefore reasonably well known, and, because of these constraints, identification of new sources in the eastern Mediterranean region becomes ever more unlikely. This makes the exercise of characterizing archaeological obsidians an attractive proposition, since, unlike potential clay sources for pottery provenance, the existence of completely unknown sources can be (cautiously) ignored. This is, of course, subject to the requirement noted above for more detailed geochemical characterization of existing sources. 

As the field of chemistry developed, so did the interest in the chemistry of soil. This was natural because the early chemists extracted elements from geological sources and, in the broadest sense, from soil itself. In fact, the development of the periodic table required the extraction, isolation, and identification of all of the elements, many of which are found abundantly in soil. 

XRF is widely used in industrial applications where a large number of elements need to be determined quantitatively. It is used for continuous quality control in the steel industry (e.g., the determination of Mn, Cr, Ni, Co, etc., in the production of stainless steels), and also for casting quality of coins in the Royal Mint (where Cu, Ni, and Zn are continuously monitored). Geological applications include whole rock analyses and clay identification. The power industry uses it as pollution control management, measuring sulfur and heavy metal concentrations in fuels (coal, oil) and ash. 

Factor analysis techniques and the power of their graphical representation permit rapid Identification of anomalous behavior in multidimensional water quality data. In addition, the techniques permit qualitative class distinctions among waters with different geologic... 

Recent work reported a method for estimating the mineral content of coals based on the electron-mlcroprobe-determlned chemical composition of discrete particles. (1,2) Each particle Is assumed to contain only one mineral component. Possible ambiguities In qualitative Identification of discrete mineral particles can be eliminated by XRD analyses of the bulk material to Identify the minerals present. For most geological materials, such separations are not readily obtainable. Thus, this method Is limited to materials that can be dispersed Into particles composed of single minerals. 

The identification of compounds using powder diffraction is useful for qualitative analysis, such as mixtures of small crystals in geological samples. It also gives a rough check of the purity of a sample—but note that powder diffraction does not detect amorphous products or impurities of less than about 5%. 

The identification of a specific zeolite species with a particular genesis or environment of formation is very difficult if natural mineral occurrence is used as the sole criteria. Most alkali zeolites are found at one place or another in most low temperature geological situations. Various authors have cited various physical and chemical factors which would control the sequence or particular species of alkali zeolite found in nature. Silica and alkali activities in solution are of great importance in surface and buried deposits (Sheppard and Gude, 1971 Honda and Muffler, 1970 Hay, 1964 Coombs, t al.. 1959 Read and Eisbacher, 1974). 

The use of brand names in this report is for identification purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Geological Survey. 

Traditionally, archaeological chemistry has been restricted almost en-tirely to the study of problems for which the only remaining evidence was the material to be analyzed. For example, earlier studies in our laboratory which provided results that allowed identification of the geological sources of Hopewell obsidian artifacts (I) are what could be called classical archaeological chemistry. Must we, however, restrict archaeological chemistry to periods and areas where artifacts are the chief sources of information and avoid problems of importance in more recent times simply because written records exist Clearly, the significance of the problem to be studied should be the criterion, and two of the three studies reported here indicate a close and productive interaction between... 

Chapter 7 then considers the formation of hydrates in nature, such as in the permafrost and deep oceans of the earth. In such situations geologic time mitigates the necessity for kinetic formation effects and allows the use of thermodynamic conditions, such as those in the three-phase portions of the present chapter, for identification, exploration, and recovery. 

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