Rock Provenance by Petrologic Methods

Rock Provenance by Petrologic Methods Sooner or later, almost every rock on Earth is broken down into sediment, and the sediment is then carried away somewhere else by gravity, water, wind or ice. We see this happening every day in the land around us, and the rock cycle labels that set of events and processes erosion. We should be able to look at a particular sediment and tell something about the rocks it came from. If you think of a rock as a document, sediment is that document shredded. Even if a document is shredded down to individual letters, for instance, we could study the letters and tell pretty easily what language it was written in. If there were some whole words preserved, we could make a good guess about the documents subject, its vocabulary, even its age. And if a sentence or two escaped shredding, we might even match it to the book or paper it came from. Provenance: Reasoning Upstream This kind of research on sediments is called provenance studies. In geology, provenance (rhymes with providence) means where the sediments came from and how they got where they are today. It means working backward, or upstream, from the grains of sediment we have (the shreds) to get an idea of the rock or rocks they used to be (the documents). Its a very geological way of thinking, and provenance studies have exploded in the last few decades. Provenance is a topic confined to sedimentary rocks: sandstone and conglomerate. There are ways of characterizing the protoliths of metamorphic rocks and the sources of igneous rocks like granite or basalt, but theyre vague in comparison. The first thing to know, as you reason your way upstream, is that transporting sediment changes it. The process of transport breaks rocks into ever smaller particles from boulder to clay size, by physical abrasion. And at the same time most of the minerals in the sediment are chemically changed, leaving just a few resistant ones. Also, long transport in streams can sort out the minerals in sediment by their density, so that light minerals like quartz and feldspar can move ahead of heavy ones like magnetite and zircon. Second, once sediment arrives at a resting place- a sedimentary basin- and turns into sedimentary rock again, new minerals may form in it by diagenetic processes. Doing provenance studies, then, requires you to ignore some things and visualize other things that used to be present. Its not straightforward, but were getting better with experience and new tools. This article focuses on petrological techniques, based on simple observations of minerals under the microscope. This is the kind of thing geology students learn in their first lab courses. The other main avenue of provenance studies uses chemical techniques, and many studies combine both. Conglomerate Clast Provenance The big stones (phenoclasts) in conglomerates are like fossils, but instead of being specimens of ancient living things they are specimens of ancient landscapes. Just as the boulders in a riverbed represent the hills upstream and uphill, conglomerate clasts generally testify about the nearby countryside, no more than a few tens of kilometers away. Its no surprise that river gravels contain bits of the hills around them. But it can be interesting to find out that the rocks in a conglomerate are the only things left from hills that vanished millions of years ago. And this kind of fact can be especially meaningful in places where the landscape has been rearranged by faulting. When two widely separated outcrops of conglomerate have the same mix of clasts, thats strong evidence that they once were very close together. Simple Petrographic Provenance A popular approach for analyzing well-preserved sandstones, pioneered around 1980, is to sort the different kinds of grains into three classes and plot them by their percentages on a triangular graph, a ternary diagram. One point of the triangle is for 100% quartz, the second is for 100% feldspar and the third is for 100% lithics: rock fragments that havent fully broken down into isolated minerals. (Anything that isnt one of these three, typically a small fraction, is ignored.) It turns out that rocks from certain tectonic settings make sediments- and sandstones- that plot in fairly consistent places on that QFL ternary diagram. For instance, rocks from the interior of continents are rich in quartz and have almost no lithics. Rocks from volcanic arcs have little quartz. And rocks derived from the recycled rocks of mountain ranges have little feldspar. When necessary, grains of quartz that are actually lithics- bits of quartzite or chert rather than bits of single quartz crystals- can be moved over to the lithics category. That classification uses a QmFLt diagram (monocrystalline quartz–feldspar–total lithics). These work pretty well in telling what kind of plate-tectonic country yielded the sand in a given sandstone. Heavy Mineral Provenance Besides their three main ingredients (quartz, feldspar, and lithics) sandstones have a few minor ingredients, or accessory minerals, derived from their source rocks. Except for the mica mineral muscovite, they are relatively dense, so theyre usually called heavy minerals. Their density makes them easy to separate from the rest of a sandstone. These can be informative. For instance, a large area of igneous rocks is apt to yield grains of hard primary minerals like augite, ilmenite or chromite. Metamorphic terranes add things like garnet, rutile and staurolite. Other heavy minerals like magnetite, titanite and tourmaline could come from either. Zircon is exceptional among the heavy minerals. It is so tough and inert that it can endure for billions of years, being recycled over and over like the coins in your pocket. The great persistence of these detrital zircons has led to a very active field of provenance research that starts with separating hundreds of microscopic zircon grains, then determining the age of each one using isotopic methods. The individual ages arent as important as the blend of ages. Every large body of rock has its own blend of zircon ages, and the blend can be recognized in the sediments that erode from it. Detrital-zircon provenance studies are powerful, and so popular nowadays that theyre often abbreviated as DZ. But they rely on expensive labs and equipment and preparation, so theyre mainly used for high-payoff research. The older ways of sifting, sorting and counting mineral grains are still useful.

The Impact of Studying Abroad on Graduate Employability Coursework

The Impact of Studying Abroad on Graduate Employability - Coursework Example Students may acquire abilities that are highly valued as a result of studying in foreign nations. While it is often believed that foreign language skills are the most visible advantage of studying abroad, there are other factors that can result in a graduate being considered in different workplaces. Skills and knowledge gained from studying abroad that are valued in the jobs marketplace In the first place, the exposure to distant cultures increases one’s cultural sensitivity and tolerance, both of which are cherished values given today’s diverse labour force. Employers are always searching for potential workers who are able to interact and communicate with persons of different cultures and nations (Orahood, Kruze, and Pearson 2004). Also, internationally experienced students are also more open to espousing different kinds of change. This means that they can readily adjust to new situations without needing too much help. Study abroad programs also help in making graduate students more positive and self-assured when facing different situations (Parey and Waldinger 2011). Such skills serve them well during job interviews. Internationally experienced graduates acquire a number of skills that other students cannot replicate. For example, they acquire the ability to handle constant change while also being informed about different working regulations in different countries (King, Findlay, and Ahrens 2010). They are also big risk takers and are not easily scared away when encountering unfamiliar situations. Internationally experienced graduates learn easily how to conduct themselves diplomatically in all situations and thus build relationships with people from different ethnic backgrounds. In some cases, these students are also able to execute leadership in spite of religious or cultural differences. They tend to have good cross-cultural skills, are mature, and self-motivated (Jones 2009). Positions/jobs graduates who studied abroad are more likely to sec ure There are many positions that internationally educated graduates have access to. For example, they can be appointed as their organisation’s representative to foreign nations or as leaders of foreign branches (Varghese 2008). Due to their people skills, they can also work in the public relations division, or human resources department in various business organisations (Fielden, Middlehurst, and Woodfield 2007). They can also function as consultants for issues concerning international business. Internationally experienced graduates are also usually quite proficient in written speech. This is because they had to write often during their studies in order to communicate with family members or correspond with universities. Such skills give them the ability to be able to apply for jobs which require a lot of writing such as journalism (Cai 2012). There are also numerous jobs in the internet such as being a social media manager, which calls for one to have good communication skil ls and proficiency in various internet skills. They could also serve as online content creators, where they update the business’s status and write blogs. They could also successfully serve as customer service representatives and represent their companies. This job calls for people who

Wed Class Cases due Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Wed Class Cases due - Assignment Example In fact, I can say that the success of the whole project lies on the design you produced. Currently, there is some distraction with technical composition of the project and that is taking up everyone’s focus. The details in the technical bit will enhance the design you come up with, therefore, as much as few comments arise currently, you are a key person in the success of this team. Hello Vander, this is an expression of my interest in the upcoming position is very high because I believe I have what it takes. I can support this because I have an engineering degree, record of accomplishment for excellence, excellent employee record, and adequate experience. I am exceptionally keen on customer satisfaction and aims at production of quality. I request for your support of my interest in this position because I believe you are focused on supporting the best talent for the position. On 3 April 2012, I paid for my electricity bill through mobile money specifications, but things never worked out. I stayed in darkness for several hours before opting to buy units through other means following several hours of trying to reach customer care in vain. My phone number is +4457898769 and I am requesting for a refund because, two weeks later, I have not received the tokens I had bought. Dear Sir, following the information customers has been receiving recently regarding warranties; it means that there is more information to the customers than our company ever expected. This is not a good thing for the reputation of our company, as the customers will soon look at our company as swindlers, especially if we do not deliver the promise we make to them. It is not appropriate forging ahead with the efforts of training the sales team if the company has to save its reputation from negative opinions of customers. Social media has become a great way for executives meeting with their clients. That is what Opra Winfrey, Richard Branson and Donald Trump

Locals spend lavishly thanks to windfall from IPOs Essay

Locals spend lavishly thanks to windfall from IPOs - Essay Example "I took a Karwa taxi to the Industrial Area from the Old Airport locality on Friday evening and I paid QR30 as one-way fare It is too much," he said. Even a Qatari national, Yahya Abdul Rahman, felt the sheep were costlier this Eid. He blamed house rents as the single culprit for the rising cost of living and said he had let out four houses to expatriate tenant families and raised rents only marginally. "I have concern for them," he said of his tenants. The article mainly talks about how locals in Doha, Qatar enjoy affluent lifestyles as opposed to foreign expatriates. Expatriates are people who are temporarily living in another country, the culture of which different from the one they are from. The locals' and the expatriates' economic and financial differences are highlighted during the Eid al-Adha or Feast of Sacrifice, the most important feast of the Muslim. The feast is celebrated by sacrificing domestic animals, particularly sheep. The article narrates how it is easy for an average Qatari to purchase a fair number of sheep, while the foreigners struggle to buy even just one. The local Qataris can manage to be extravagant because of the "booming stock market" especially initial public offerings (IPO... He blamed house rents as the single culprit for the rising cost of living and said he had let out four houses to expatriate tenant families and raised rents only marginally. "I have concern for them," he said of his tenants. "Landlords are greedy," he said of property owners, his fellow countrymen. "Rising inflation is not good for all of us." Section: Local News Accessed 1/9/2006 from http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com 1.2 Commentary The article mainly talks about how locals in Doha, Qatar enjoy affluent lifestyles as opposed to foreign expatriates. Expatriates are people who are temporarily living in another country, the culture of which different from the one they are from. The locals' and the expatriates' economic and financial differences are highlighted during the Eid al-Adha or Feast of Sacrifice, the most important feast of the Muslim. The feast is celebrated by sacrificing domestic animals, particularly sheep. The article narrates how it is easy for an average Qatari to purchase a fair number of sheep, while the foreigners struggle to buy even just one. The local Qataris can manage to be extravagant because of the "booming stock market" especially initial public offerings (IPOs). IPOs are the first sale of stock offered by a private company to the public, stocks being the element of ownership in a corporation. IPOs can only be offered once, many people take advantage of the opportunity. It is typical for the value of IPOs to rise on debut. However, many fall below the offering prices before the year ends. Because of this investing in IPOs are risky, as with all other investments. But even with the booming shares in the Doha Securities Market (up to 98% in 2005), economists raise concern that it might

Agents and Representatives in Budgeting Process Research Proposal

Agents and Representatives in Budgeting Process - Research Proposal Example The role of agents in budgeting is of great significance and, hence, should not be overlooked. During the preparations of the annual budgets and reports from all the state organs, profit, and non-profit enterprises, all the stakeholders are represented via agents. The representing agents should be individuals with deep understanding of finance and knowledgeable in accounting. It is the participation of all the agents representing the relevant institutions in the budgetary process that is commonly referred to as departmental agency budgeting (Goodman and Clynch, 2004). This process entails four major stages, namely: i. Comprehensive Fiscal Policy Formulation Under this umbrella, the overarching institutional objectives are formulated and determined. It is these policies that regulates the decision making process regarding aggregate expenditure and revenue of the firm. ii. Preparation and Enactment of the Budget It is in this stage that the government decides on proportions of financia l allocation to be advanced to each agent, and also the government outlines the purpose for which the funds are allocated to a given agent. The guiding principles relating to these are set out clearly by the legislations enacted by the state. iii. Budgetary Execution This is the actual stage in budgeting. It involves carrying out the stipulated expenditure as developed in the budget plan. It is in this stage that contractual agreements are signed between the budgetary committee and the contractors (Goodman and Clynch, 2004). iv. Accounting, Auditing, and Reporting This being the final stage in budgeting, it is the post-ante process of preparing the accounting records regarding revenues and expenditures executed by the organization within a given fiscal period. These records must have been audited by both internal and hired external experts/auditors to ensure that they meet the international accounting and auditing standards. The final reports (audited reports) are then presented to the financers, government agencies, ministers, the public and the parliament. Objectives of Budgeting The following are the key objectives of budgeting: Sound Macro-Fiscal Result: This forms the backbone to aggregate fiscal policy objective in budgeting. To ensure fiscal sustainability, sound fiscal policies must be put in place to regulate financial operations and to ensure that organization short-term debts are paid when they fall due. This policy also acts as macro-stabilizer to the economy by regulating taxation policies during boom and recession. Appropriate Expenditure Prioritization: This policy advocates for effective allocation of resources to those projects that are deemed socially profitable. The corollary under this objective is to avoid misallocation of resources especially to least priority sectors of the economy, but instead to maximize on the social gains. Service Efficiency and Effectiveness: This implies that the state services delivery is made more efficient and e ffective in a manner that is socially justifiable and acceptable by all the stakeholders. 1. Budget Overview Taking an example of HIV/AIDS funding program, during the financial allocation process, all the departments involved must have their representative on board.

Can Terrorism be defeated by Military Means Only Essay

Can Terrorism be defeated by Military Means Only - Essay Example Can Terrorism be defeated by Military Means Only? A few examples of better ideas are the promises of peaceful change, social reforms and economic equity. Terrorism is a form of â€Å"asymmetrical warfare† in military parlance. This terminology defines it as a type of warfare in which one of the combatants (the weaker) chooses when and where to engage and fight the other side (the stronger enemy). The term asymmetry derives from the unequal status in terms of strength of the combatants in which a lightly-equipped force attacks the much-stronger enemy by using unorthodox means of hitting its enemy through weak points. By necessity, terrorists use ideas to gain access into people's minds and hearts to win them over to their cause. Terrorism is the dominant form of conflict in most of today’s hot spots. Anti-terrorism experts are agreed on its layman’s definition which is an act or a series of acts designed to sow terror or extreme fear. Police investigative techniques and military solutions are good only for the sh ort term but not really effective for the long haul. Discussion The aim of terrorists is intimidate and threaten people so they will act in a certain manner that is favourable or desired by the terrorists. This is but a simple form of coercion backed by threats of violence. Just as the saying that history is written by victors of a war, terrorism can be viewed from different perspectives, depending on who is using terror to achieve its aims. Individuals, groups and even governments use terror to help them achieve their objectives. Terrorism does not make any distinctions on the persons using terror but focuses on the means of terror. It means marginal groups can be labelled as terrorists as well as existing governments which employ the same techniques and methods. Agents who killed British soldiers in Palestine before Israel was given its independence were terrorists by the above definition and so were the Spanish secret agents under a previous administration during 1982 to 1986. Th e Guardia Civil (Spanish police) had formed their own terrorist units called as the Grupo Antiterrorista de Liberacion or GAL (www.onwar.com, n.d., p. 1) to counter threats posed by the growing ETA movement (Euskadi Ta Askatasuna) of the Basque region which initially had targeted members of the police and military. As can be gleaned from this initial discussion, terrorism can be viewed from different perspectives and as such could also be justified depending on who is using terrorism as a tool. In other words, terrorism is not a sole domain of disaffected individuals and marginal groups but also of duly-elected governments which find it convenient to use terrorism as state policy. Most terrorists today belong to organisations which are basically stateless. This state of being stateless is one other characteristic of asymmetrical warfare and is what makes the terror groups quite difficult to hunt down and defeat. Their structure is not hierarchical but rather more of a network which has redundant functions performed by several terror cells. In aftermath of Osama bin Laden’s reported death, many ordinary people expected terrorism threats to vanish away but anti-terrorism experts believe otherwise because the motivation is still there within the organisation of al-Qaida. The goals and the willingness to use terror have not changed a bit and many affiliated terror cells can still strike any time (Clarke, 2011, p. 1). In the thinking of most military

Policy Making Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Policy Making - Essay Example The contacts can be found in a government directory. The next step is initiating contact. This involves calling the offices or traveling to the offices personally. If an appointment is granted, the plan moves to the next part which involves correspondence on material. This is the part where any question that will be posed to the policy makers during the visit get availed to allow ample time for preparation. In addition, the policy makers will get a copy of the policy recommendation report to allow them to prepare for the discussion during the visit. After providing the material in focus, the next stage will involve setting up a date for the visit and the itinerary. The itinerary is generally focused on arrival at the policy makers’ offices and a schedule of the debates that will take place. The itinerary will be approved by both sides (we, the visitors and the policy makers). The visit will last for not more than two hours (Bensley & Brookins-Fisher, 2008). Overview of Recomme ndations The key strategies of the recommendations are proper patient-to-nurse ratio staffing, proper shift managements, and proper overtime management. The importance of these aspects of nursing is that they are the backbone of proper nursing environment. On proper nurse-to-patient ratio, the problem was that nurses in many hospitals were overwhelmed by the work they had to do. In some cases, one nurse had to tend to over sixty patients. This is a dangerous situation because nurses who are overwhelmed by their work get fatigued and, as a result, produce poor quality results (Kenner & Finkelman, 2012). On proper shift management, the problem identified was that nurses had to do very long shifts and in most cases worked on the same working quadrant for a long time. The long shifts made the nurses fatigued and demoralized them. The notion of working in the same quadrant over a long period of time made their work seem repetitive. Repetitive work makes the nurses numb to developments in the workplace. These developments are such as patient condition deterioration or any routine procedures that may need to be changed. My recommendation at this point is that the nurses should work shifts of less than eight hours and that the hospitals should do frequent rotation of the nurses in the wards (Kenner & Finkelman, 2012). On overtime management, the problem identified was that nurses did much overtime work. Daytime nurses tended to stretch their shifts into the night and vice versa. Other nurses took weekend jobs. The problem with overtime work is that it exhausts the nurses and confuses the doctors who will have already changed shifts. My recommendation is that nurses should be allowed as little overtime work as possible due to the nature of their work. Their work is sensitive and demands a lot of keenness (Kenner & Finkelman, 2012). Analysis of Empirical Evidence Empirical evidence showed that nurses who worked for long shifts had alarmingly poor results with many nursi ng related conditions attributed to them. Generally, nurses who worked long shifts complained of loss of concentration in work and stress. Doctors who worked with nurses, who worked long shifts, complained of laxity among those nurses and reduction in the quality of the nurses’ work. The case was worse among nurses who were registered and their unregistered assistants. In such cases, there was a breakdown in communication. Registered nurses who