Geophysical Evidence for the Availability of Geothermal Energy in New Britian

This paper combines some of the results and interpretations of geological mapping, seismic refraction, marine seismic, and gravity surveys to show that large tracts of New Britain could be favorable targets for geothermal power development. It is shown that the fractured and faulted lithosphere is associated with grabens and rifts in which mantle material has risen to within 10 to 15 km from the surface. The grabens and rifts are marked by volcanism in which the dominant volcanic rocks are olivine--and tholeiitic--basalts, with a sprinkling of more acid volcanics ranging from dacite to andesite. Following A. Rittman the basalts are believed to have originated in the asthenosphere when the lithosphere was broken up under a tensional stress regime; the acid volcanics were formed by magmatic differentiation within the crust. it was argued that ideal geothermal reservoirs are capped with altered ash deposits or other nonpermeable volcanics. To feed such reservoirs conduits are required which are naturally located on fault or shear zones. The two areas selected as favorable for future geothermal power development are located between Talasea and Lolobau Is., say around Hoskins; and near Rabaul, between Matupi Harbor and Matupi. As a type area, the rift between the Gazelle Peninsula and New Ireland resembles the Afar triangle, at the northern end of the Great Valley Rift system of Africa

Simulation of Ablating Hypersonic Vehicles with Finite-Rate Surface Chemistry

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/140434/1/6.2014-2124.pd

The Paleozoic Origin of Enzymatic Lignin Decomposition Reconstructed from 31 Fungal Genomes

Wood is a major pool of organic carbon that is highly resistant to decay, owing largely to the presence of lignin. The only organisms capable of substantial lignin decay are white rot fungi in the Agaricomycetes, which also contains non–lignin-degrading brown rot and ectomycorrhizal species. Comparative analyses of 31 fungal genomes (12 generated for this study) suggest that lignin-degrading peroxidases expanded in the lineage leading to the ancestor of the Agaricomycetes, which is reconstructed as a white rot species, and then contracted in parallel lineages leading to brown rot and mycorrhizal species. Molecular clock analyses suggest that the origin of lignin degradation might have coincided with the sharp decrease in the rate of organic carbon burial around the end of the Carboniferous period

Crustal Structure of the Hawaiian Archipelago, Northern Melanesia, and the Central Pacific Basin by Seismic Refraction Methods

Furumoto, A.S., Wiebenga, W.A., Webb, J.P. and Sutton, G.H., 1973. Crustal structure of the Hawaiian Archipelago, northern Melanesia, and the Central Pacific Basin by seismic refraction methods. In: S. Mueller (Editor), The Structure of the Earth's Crust, based on Seismic Data. Tectonophysics, 20 (1–4): 153–164. The crustal structure of the Hawaiian Archipelago, northern Melanesia, and parts of the Central Pacific Basin have been studied by seismic refraction methods. The systematic variation found in crustal thickness in the Hawaiian Islands is explainable by a hypothesis of differential subsidence. The crustal structure of northern Melanesia points to tensional forces in an east-west direction and compressional forces in a north-south direction. In the Central Pacific Basin, a 7.4 km/sec layer in the lower crust seems to be present over a wide area

New Britain—New Ireland Crustal Seismic Refraction Investigations 1967 and 1969

The initial interpretation of deep seismic refraction data in the New Britain‐New Ireland region has resulted in generalized crustal crosssections in six areas being defined. In the south‐east Bismarck Sea a single layer crust with a P seismic velocity of 6.9 km s overlies 8.0 km s mantle at 20 km depth. The crust thickens under the Gazelle Peninsula to 32 km in a two‐layer crustal model and this thickness is maintained out to the islands east of New Ireland. In central New Britain a two‐layer crust 29 km thick at the Solomon Sea margin thins to 25 km under Central New Britain with high crustal seismic velocities indicating a high density crust. Further examination of the large amount of data now available in the region is under way and should reveal detailed structure in the upper crust