Frederick J Ryerson

• Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Laboratory experiments were used to investigate diffusive isotopic fractionation of calcium and potassium in phonolite‐rhyolite diffusion couples. The starting compositions have very different SiO 2 and K 2 O, but similar CaO. These were juxtaposed and held in a completely molten state at 1450 ° C and 1.0 GPa for durations of 2.5 or 6 hours in a pi...

The solubility of titanite (CaTiSiO5) in Si-rich melts was measured experimentally through growth experiments at 800–1000 °C, 0.5–1.0 GPa, log fO2 ~ CCO–0.8, t = 72–168 h, and H2O = 0 to 4 wt.%, and in dissolution experiments at 925–1300 °C, 0.8 GPa, t = 18–118 h, and H2O = 1–10 wt.% in a piston-cylinder apparatus. Run product glasses in growth exp...

The mass transport mechanisms of Ti in TiO2:SiO2 and Ge in GeO2:SiO2 direct ink write, additively manufactured glasses were studied. Due to the low solubility of Ti in SiO2 and high melting point of TiO2 relative to SiO2, Ti transport was found to occur via solid state interdiffusion between adjoining SiO2 and TiO2 precursor particles. The diffusiv...

The ability to fabricate additively manufactured laser waveguides with sharp dopant concentration interfaces is limited by diffusion of the dopants at the temperatures required to fully densify the material. Compositional analysis of bilayer samples, where each layer was either undoped YAG or YAG doped with Yb, Lu, or Nd, were fabricated such that...

Fault slip rates are critical to quantify continental deformation. Those along the Karakax fault (northwestern Altyn Tagh Fault: ATF) have been debated, even though it is one of Tibet’s most outstanding active faults. At Taersa, using LiDAR measurements of terrace and fan riser offsets (~6 to ~500 m) and 10Be/26Al dating of alluvial surfaces (<210...

Local structure and density of liquid Fe-S alloys at high pressure have been determined in situ by combined angle and energy dispersive X-ray diffraction experiments in a multi-anvil apparatus, covering a large temperature and compositional range. Precise density measurements collected for increasing temperature allowed us to directly derive the th...

This work aims to address a challenge posed by recent observations of tightly spaced hydraulic fractures in core samples from the hydraulic fracturing test site (HFTS) in the Middle Wolfcamp Formation. Many fractures in retrieved cores have subfoot spacing, which is at odds with conventional models in which usually one hydraulic fracture is initiat...

We demonstrate an additive manufacturing approach to produce gradient refractive index glass optics. Using direct ink writing with an active inline micromixer, we three-dimensionally print multimaterial green bodies with compositional gradients, consisting primarily of silica nanoparticles and varying concentrations of titania as the index-modifyin...

Digital elevation maps obtained using TanDEM‐X and Pleiades data combined with newly obtained surface age estimates using cosmogenic radionuclide (CRN) and optically simulated luminescence (OSL) methods are used to quantify the slip rate along the western section of the Altyn Tagh Fault in southern Xinjiang. The reconstruction of the conical shape...

This work aims to address a challenge posed by recent observations of tightly-spaced hydraulic fractures in core samples from the Hydraulic Fracturing Test Site (HFTS). Many fractures in retrieved cores have sub-foot spacing, which is at odds with conventional models where usually one fracture is initiated per cluster. Since it is unrealistic to ex...

Spatially distinct and graded doping profiles may be formed in YAG transparent ceramic laser gain media via additive manufacturing. Near-uniform refractive index may be obtained with co-doping of the undoped region with a compensating ion.

The advection-dispersion equation for scalar transport is essential for the numerical modeling of many fluid dynamics problems. However, solutions from numerical schemes always suffer from numerical diffusion and/or oscillation. In this study, we develop an Intra-Cell Advection Tracking (ICAT) scheme to minimize numerical diffusion and preserve mon...

The height growth of a hydraulic fracture is known to be affected by many factors that are related to the layered structure of sedimentary rocks. Although these factors are often used to qualitatively explain why hydraulic fractures usually have well–bounded height growth, most of them cannot be directly and quantitatively characterized for a given...

Hydraulic fracture height containment is a critical issue in the development of unconventional reservoirs. The extent of fracture height growth depends on a variety of factors, particularly stress and stiffness contrasts between adjacent layers. Accurate simulation of fracture growth and containment requires a reliable fracturing criterion. The vir...

Hydraulic fracturing has proven to be an essential technique for enhancing oil, gas and heat recovery from subsurface reservoirs. Accurate characterization of stimulated hydraulic fractures has significant scientific and practical value but remains practically challenging. We propose a novel templated electrical resistivity tomography (TERT) method...

Reservoir depletion and its influence on subsequent hydraulic fracture propagation are studied using a three-dimensional fully coupled geomechanics, fluid flow and hydraulic fracturing code. Pressure change and resultant stress alteration are captured through a rigorously developed poroelastic model, validated against analytical solutions. In the c...

A hydraulic fracture's height growth is known to be affected by many factors that are related to the layered structure of sedimentary rocks. While these factors are often used to qualitatively explain why hydraulic fractures usually have well-bounded height growth, most of them cannot be directly and quantitatively characterized for a given reservo...

Fiber-optic-based distributed acoustic sensors (DAS) are a new technology that can be deployed in a well and are continuously interrogated during operations. These sensors measure the strain (or strain rate) at all points along the fiber and have been used extensively to monitor hydraulic stimulations. The data from these sensors indicate that they...

A lack of predictive methodology is frequently a major bottleneck in materials development for additive manufacturing. Hence, exploration of new printable materials often relies on the serendipity of trial and error approaches, which is time-consuming, labor-intensive, and costly. We present an approach to overcome these issues by quantifying and c...

Fracture height control is an important concern in stimulation design. Existing knowledge of interaction mechanisms between hydraulic fractures, natural fractures, and source rock fabric has been largely obtained from 2D or pseudo-3D models. The recent advances in full-3D hydraulic fracture modeling capabilities reveal previously-unknown 3D interac...

Nominally anhydrous minerals formed deep in the mantle and transported to the Earth’s surface contain tens to hundreds of ppm wt H2O, providing evidence for the presence of dissolved water in the Earth’s interior. Even at these low concentrations, H2O greatly affects the physico-chemical properties of mantle materials, governing planetary dynamics...

Conventional principles of the design and operation of geologic carbon storage (GCS) require injecting CO2 below the caprock fracturing pressure to ensure the integrity of the storage complex. In nonideal storage reservoirs with relatively low permeability, pressure buildup can lead to hydraulic fracturing of the reservoir and caprock. While the GC...

This paper describes a fully coupled finite element/finite volume approach for simulating field-scale hydraulically driven fractures in three dimensions, using massively parallel computing platforms. The proposed method is capable of capturing realistic representations of local heterogeneities, layering and natural fracture networks in a reservoir....

Significance We combine, for the first time to our knowledge, two approaches to study Earth’s core composition: a geochemical approach based on trace element depletion in the mantle and a geophysical approach based on a seismically lighter and faster (than pure iron−nickel) core. The joint approach allows making strong statements; first of all, as...

The oxygen isotope composition of carbonate minerals varies with temperature as well as other environmental variables. For carbonates that precipitate slowly, under conditions that approach thermodynamic equilibrium, the temperature-dependence of 18O uptake is the dominant signal and the measured 18O content can be used as a paleotemperature proxy....

Diffusion experiments in a simplified Na2O-CaO-SiO2 liquid system are used to develop a general formulation for the fractionation of Ca isotopes during liquid-phase diffusion. Although chemical diffusion is a well-studied process, the mathematical description of the effects of diffusion on the separate isotopes of a chemical element is surprisingly...

In California, where the San Jacinto fault (SJF) and San Andreas fault (SAF) accommodate the majority of the dextral shear deformation between the Pacific and North American plates, initiation of the SJF led to an apparent decline in the slip rate of the SAF. Previous studies suggest that since then, slip rate has covaried between these faults (pos...

Paleotemperature reconstructions rely on knowledge of the equilibrium separation of oxygen isotopes between aqueous solution and calcium carbonate. Although oxygen isotope separation is expected on theoretical grounds, the temperature-dependence remains uncertain because other factors, such as slow exchange of isotopes between dissolved CO2-species...

Earth's Ingredients What was the composition of the earliest terrestrial starting blocks? The answer lies in understanding how Earth's interior separated into mantle and core components. Siebert et al. (p. 1194 , published online 10 January) performed a series of high pressure and temperature experiments to track how chromium and vanadium, which ha...

The pattern of siderophile (iron-loving) element abundance in the silicate portion of the Earth is a consequence of metal separation during core formation. The apparent excess of nickel and cobalt in mantle-derived rocks has been attributed to metal-silicate equilibration in a deep terrestrial magma ocean. Based on the extrapolation of phase equili...

Molecular diffusion in natural volcanic liquids discriminates between isotopes of major ions (e.g., Fe, Mg, Ca, and Li). Although isotope separation by diffusion is expected on theoretical grounds, the dependence on mass is highly variable for different elements and in different media. Silicate liquid diffusion experiments using simple liquid compo...

Superliquidus metal–silicate partitioning was investigated for a number of moderately siderophile (Mo, As, Ge, W, P, Ni, Co), slightly siderophile (Zn, Ga, Mn, V, Cr) and refractory lithophile (Nb, Ta) elements. To provide independent constrains on the effects of temperature, oxygen fugacity and silicate melt composition, isobaric (3 GPa) experimen...

A ceramic waste form based on Synroc-D is under development for the incorporation of the mineral residues from molten salt oxidation treatment of mixed low-level wastes. Samples containing as many as 32 chemical elements have been fabricated, characterized, and leach-tested. Universal Treatment Standards have been satisfied for all regulated elemen...

Neodymium diffusion was observed in yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) polycrystals with negligible change of microstructure during diffusion. Ceramic bi-layer samples were fabricated via a technique developed for ceramic laser amplifiers, from flame-spray pyrolized powders of un-doped YAG and 1% Nd:YAG. Diffusion studies were carried out on these sampl...

Seismic discontinuities in Earth typically arise from structural, chemical, or temperature variations with increasing depth. The pressure-induced iron spin state transition in the lower mantle may influence seismic wave velocities by changing the elasticity of iron-bearing minerals, but no seismological evidence of an anomaly exists. Inelastic x-ra...

Two sites located along the Wadi Araba Fault (WAF) segment of the Dead Sea Fault are targeted for tectonic-morphological analysis. 10Be cosmogenic radionuclide (CRN) dating of embedded cobbles is used to constrain the age of offset alluvial surfaces. At the first site a 48 ± 7 m offset alluvial fan, for which 10Be CRN model ages average 11.1 ± 4.3...

We performed room-temperature sound velocity and density measurements on a polycrystalline alloy, Fe0.89Ni0.04Si0.07, in the hexagonal close-packed (hcp) phase up to 108 GPa. Over the investigated pressure range the aggregate compressional sound velocity is ∼ 9% higher than in pure iron at the same density. The measured aggregate compressional (VP)...

Liquid phase diffusion experiments were carried out to determine whether diffusive isotopic fractionation of a major chemical element (Ca) varies with chemical composition in high-temperature molten silicates. The objective was to determine how differences in silicate liquid structure, such as the ratio of bridging to non-bridging oxygen atoms, as...

This work investigates slip rate evolution over time along one large strike-slip fault, the Dead Sea Transform (DST), which is the 1000-km long plate boundary between the Arabia plate and the Sinai sub-plate. We focus on the Wadi Araba fault, the southernmost segment of the DST. No agreement has been reached yet about the slip rate of the DST. Prop...

In this study, we investigated iron–magnesium exchange and transition-metal trace-element partitioning between magnesium silicate perovskite (Mg,Fe)SiO3 and ferropericlase (Mg,Fe)O synthetised under lower-mantle conditions (up to 115 GPa and 2200 K) in a laser-heated diamond anvil cell. Recovered samples were thinned to electron transparency by foc...

The Dead Sea Fault (DSF) accommodates the northward displacement of the Arabia plate relative to Sinai. Although it counts among the major strike-slip faults, no agreement has been reached yet about its slip rate, either instantaneous or longer term. Proposed values vary from 2 to 10 mm/yr. We present here an extensive study of the slip rate for th...

We use a combination of nanometer-resolution secondary ion mass spectrometry (NanoSIMS) and analytical transmission electron microscopy (ATEM) for chemical imaging of material transformed in a laser-heated diamond anvil cell (LH-DAC), in the pressure and temperature range of Earth's lower mantle. MORB (mid-ocean ridge basalt), one of the components...

Zoisite-fluid trace element partition coefficients have been determined and are used to model fluids generated during the breakdown of hydrous phases in a subducting slab. Partition coefficients were determined for Rb, Ba, Th, U, Nb, Ta, Pb, Sr, and nine rare earth elements (REE) at 750–900 °C and 2.0 GPa. Our results show that Sr and Pb are extrem...

In the northern Tibet, the Altyn Tagh fault (ATF) system over 2000-km-long is the longest left-lateral strike-slip fault in the Asia, which accommodates sinistral motion between the Tibetan Plateau and the Tarim block within the India-Eurasia collision zone. The Karakax fault, extending over a length of 600km, is located on in northwestern Tibet as...

We determine the long-term slip rate of the southern San Andreas Fault in the southeastern Indio Hills using 10Be and 26Al isotopes to date an offset alluvial fan surface. Field mapping complemented with topographic data, air photos and satellite images allows precise determination of piercing points across the fault zone that are used to measure a...

Beryllium-10 surface exposure dating of offset moraines on one branch of the Karakorum Fault west of the Gar basin yields a long-term (140- to 20-thousand-year) right-lateral slip rate of ∼10.7 ± 0.7 millimeters per year. This rate is 10 times larger than that inferred from recent InSAR analyses (∼1 ± 3 millimeters per year) that span ∼8 years and...

The ocean crust is an extreme and oligotrophic environment and yet recent studies have shown that reactions between oceanic crust and seawater are capable of supporting microbial life. We are specifically targeting volcanic glass as a source of energy and nutrients necessary to support endolithic microbial communities. A significant amount of chemi...

1] Geologic investigations of how the Tibetan plateau is currently deforming have focused primarily on its boundary faults. Consequently, how the interior of the plateau deforms remains poorly understood. To fill this gap in knowledge, we conducted field mapping, analysis of remote sensing and digital topographic data, and reinterpretation of exist...

Our ability to calculate the depths and temperatures at which magmas partially crystallize can prove crucial as petrologists test hypotheses of magma transport and evolution. Yet whereas numerous magma transport arguments involve hydrous and SiO2-rich volcanic products, current clinopyroxene-liquid thermobarometers have been calibrated only from ba...

Recent activity of normal faults in Greece has produced steep limestone fault scarps at the base of the mountain fronts. For example, on the Sparta fault located in the Peloponnese, and responsible for the 464 B.C. M˜7 earthquake, a continuous fresh scarp cuts limestone bedrock and indurated conglomerates. The scarp is nearly continuous dipping at...

Submarine prehistoric archaeological sites on Mediterranean coasts contribute to understanding human migrations in the last 2 million years. "Out of Africa", "Multi-regional", and "Trellis" models of human origins and dispersal depend on what environments attracted hominid and modern human occupation, and how temporal and spatial variations in envi...

Late Pleistocene–Holocene sinistral slip-rates on several segments of the Kunlun Fault in northeastern Tibet have been determined. These determinations are based on the measured displacement of alluvial surfaces whose surface ages were determined by cosmogenic ²⁶Al and ¹⁰Be dating of quartz pebbles, and by ¹⁴C dating of charcoal. In the west, at th...

A major problem for understanding the active tectonics of the central and western Mediterranean region has been the inability to date geomorphic features in limestone. Recent advances in cosmogenic methods overcome this problem. The technique is relatively straight forward. Obtaining rates on numerous faults and related structures will not only imp...

Geologic mapping and analysis of satellite images in central Tibet have revealed several conjugate strike-slip fault systems that converge toward the Bangong-Nujiang suture zone. The conjugate strike-slip systems consist of NE-striking left-slip faults in the Qiangtang terrane and NW-striking right-slip faults in the Lhasa terrane, both of which ar...

Mg-Fe and Mg-Ni interdiffusion coefficients have been measured in single-crystal olivine (α-(Mg,Ni,Fe)2SiO4), polycrystalline β phase (β-(Mg,Ni,Fe)2SiO4), and silicate spinel (γ-(Mg,Ni,Fe)2SiO4) at 1473 K between 1 and 14 GPa under controlled thermodynamic conditions. In olivine, DMg-Niα ranges from 10-17 m2 s-1 at 1 GPa to 4×10-18 m2 s-1 at 9 GPa,...

In the last ten to fifteen years there has been a movement to break down old disciplinary boundaries in the geosciences in order to develop a more unified view of the earth as an integrated system. Much of this effort has been stimulated by developments in the atmosphere and ocean sciences that study the effect of humanity’s impact on the environme...

The low atomic mass elements B, Be, and Li are viewed as sensitive tracers of the involvement of subducted materials in the genesis of island arc magmas. In order to better assess the role of dense aqueous fluids in the slab-to-mantle transfer of these elements during subduction, measurements have been made of partition coefficients for B, Be, and...

Objectives Progress 35 Section III. Research Summaries of Collaborative Projects Geosciences A Global Survey for the 80-km Discontinuity Using Three-Component Broadband Data Principal Investigator: Peter Shearer (UC San Diego) LLNL Collaborators: George Zandt and William R. Walter Student: Paul Earle (UC San Diego) In 1969, Anton Hales inferred the...

IT has been proposed1–5 that the low Ce/Pb ratio of subduction-related basalts, relative to their oceanic counterparts, arises by the preferential transfer of lead to the mantle wedge (overlying the subducting slab) by non-magmatic processes. Fluxing of the mantle wedge by low-Ce/Pb fluids, generated by the dehydration of sub-ducted oceanic crust,...

DIFFUSION in silicates plays a key role in a number of processes in the Earth's mantle, including viscous flow1–4, electrical conductance5–8 and the homogenization of chemical heterogeneities. Although cation diffusion rates have been measured in olivine at high pressures9,10, no data exist on the chemical transport properties of the silicate phase...

This report contains brief papers on the research being conducted at the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics in 1993 in Geosciences, High-Pressure sciences, and Astrophysics.

Defects in minerals play a central role in the mechanics of many geochemical and geophysical phenomena. Prominent among these phenomena are processes whose rates are controlled by bulk diffusion or the coupling of bulk diffusion and other mechanisms. Among these are (1) the homogenization of zoned crystals, (2) alteration of the compositions of min...

We have measured the dissolution rate of a simple five-component borosilicate glass (Na2O, CaO, Al2O3, B2O3, SiO2) using a flow-through system. The experiments were designed to measure the dissolution rate constant over the interval pH 1 through pH 13 at 3 temperatures (25°, 50° and 70°C). Dilute buffers were used to maintain a constant pH. Analyse...

The chemical variation among pumice fragments from the Pahute Mesa Member of the Thirsty Canyon Tuff (Black Mountain volcanic center, southwestern Nevada) is consistent with magma withdrawal from a chemically zoned magma body. The top of this magma body contained little chemical variations, the lowest concentration of light REEs, and the highest co...

Slip-rate along the San Andreas fault is known precisely at only two locations : at Wallace Creek, 34 +/- 3 mm/yr for the past 13,500 yrs and at Cajon Creek, 24.5+/- 3 mm/yr for the past 14,500 yrs. When compared to the long-term and far-field plate motion, these rates provide important constraint on how and where strain is accommodated across the...

The oxygen isotopic compositions of the world's oldest mineral grains, zircon, have recently been used to infer the compositions of the rocks from which they crystallized. The results appear to require a source that had once experienced isotopic fractionation between clay minerals and liquid water, thereby implying the presence of liquid water at t...

Hydraulic fracturing has been an enabling technology for commercially stimulating fracture networks for over half of a century. It has become one of the most widespread technologies for engineering subsurface fracture systems. Despite the ubiquity of this technique in the field, understanding and prediction of the hydraulic induced propagation of t...

The expected weapons-usable plutonium feed streams to be incorporated in a titanate ceramic immobilization form contain a variety of impurities. One of the goals of the Product Control Model currently under development is to provide a means of projecting the phase assemblage of the ceramic from a knowledge of the feed stream composition. The approa...

Thesis--Ph. D. (Brown University) Typescript and photocopy. Vita. Available in film copy from University Microfilms, Inc. Bibliography: leaves 141-147.