Wall Zone Research Articles

Textural Features and Chemical Evolution in Tantalum Oxides: Magmatic Versus Hydrothermal Origins for Ta Mineralization in the Tanco Lower Pegmatite, Manitoba, Canada

Tantalum, a key element in the electronics industry, is produced mainly from rare element granitic pegmatites. Although their internal structure, mineralogy, and petrogenesis have been extensively investigated, the processes that control tantalum mineralization remain poorly understood, in particular the role of fluids in the crystallization of tantalum ore. One of the major problems arises from the difficulty in distinguishing primary magmatic from secondary, hydrothermal textures in such complex rocks. In the Tanco pegmatite, Manitoba, Canada, tantalum mineralization shows a complexity that reflects the complex petrogenesis of its host pegmatite. Eight different families of tantalum oxides occur in various associations and compositions. The Tanco Lower pegmatite is an isolated body beneath the main pegmatite body that contains abundant tantalum associated with mica alteration. Tantalum mineralization in the Tanco Lower pegmatite occurs as three different styles. Facies 1 is hosted by the wall zone and hosts primary magmatic Ta oxides with simple textures (progressive and oscillatory zoning). Facies 2 is hosted by the lower and upper intermediate zones where most mineralization occurs with dendritic amblygonite. Facies 3 is hosted by the central zone, which is affected by mica alteration. In this latter facies, the oxides show particularly complex textures evident from X-ray mapping. By combining information obtained from textural observations and chemical analyses, we are able to determine the paragenesis for each Ta oxide-bearing mineral assemblage and hence to evaluate the relative contributions of magmatic versus hydrothermal processes. In complex associations, we observe relics of primary Ta phases that are replaced or overgrown by secondary Ta phases. We propose the paragenetic sequence: columbite group minerals + microlite (early primary magmatic) → columbite + wodginite group minerals + microlite (late primary magmatic) → wodginite group minerals + microlite (secondary magmatic) → ferrotapiolite (secondary magmatic). In addition, chemical variations were identified in the columbite and wodginite group minerals, both at the crystal scale and at the pegmatite scale. Columbite and wodginite group minerals show the typical Ta* = Ta/(Ta + Nb) and Mn* = Mn/(Mn + Fe) (atomic ratios) increase from earlier to later zones. At the crystal scale, the increase in Ta* and Mn* with fractionation in the columbite group is explained by the higher solubility of the Ta end member relative to the Nb end member and the crystallization of other minerals that shift the melt composition toward Mn* enrichment. The fractionation trend in the wodginite group shows Fe enrichment, which is consistent with experimental results that show a higher solubility of the Fe end member relative to the Mn end member in columbite group minerals. Considering the available experimental data, as well as the intimate association of Ta oxides with zircon observed in this study, we conclude that tantalum mineralization is a product of direct crystallization from the melt rather than hydrothermal in origin. Fluids are attributed an indirect role only, as they could have brought minor elements (Fe, Mn, or Ca) into the melt, which resulted in the crystallization of secondary Ta phases. Textural evidence shows that the late secondary phases were formed at the same time as mica alteration. We suggest that mica alteration was due to a late melt, rather than a hydrothermal fluid, that reacted with the blocky K-feldspar of the central zone. During the alteration event, tantalum was remobilized from primary phases and incorporated in new, secondary Ta oxide species.

An investigation on near wall transport characteristics in an adiabatic upward gas–liquid two-phase slug flow

The near-wall transport characteristics, inclusive of mass transfer coefficient and wall shear stress, which have a great effect on gas–liquid two-phase flow induced internal corrosion of low alloy pipelines in vertical upward oil and gas mixing transport, have been both mechanistically and experimentally investigated in this paper. Based on the analyses on the hydrodynamic characteristics of an upward slug unit, the mass transfer in the near wall can be divided into four zones, Taylor bubble nose zone, falling liquid film zone, Taylor bubble wake zone and the remaining liquid slug zone; the wall shear stress can be divided into two zones, the positive wall shear stress zone associated with the falling liquid film and the negative wall shear stress zone associated with the liquid slug. Based on the conventional mass transfer and wall shear stress characteristics formulas of single phase liquid full-pipe turbulent flow, corrected normalized mass transfer coefficient formula and wall shear stress formula are proposed. The calculated results are in good agreement with the experimental data. The shear stress and the mass transfer coefficient in the near wall zone are increased with the increase of superficial gas velocity and decreased with the increase of superficial liquid velocity. The mass transfer coefficients in the falling liquid film zone and the wake zone of leading Taylor bubble are lager than those in the Taylor bubble nose zone and the remaining liquid slug zone, and the wall shear stress associated falling liquid film is larger than that associated the liquid slug. The mass transfer coefficient is within 10−3 m/s, and the wall shear stress below 103 Pa. It can be concluded that the alternate wall shear stress due to upward gas–liquid slug flow is considered to be the major cause of the corrosion production film fatigue cracking.

Experimental study on hydrodynamic characteristics of upward gas–liquid slug flow

To clarify the impacts of the hydrodynamic boundary layer and the diffusion boundary layer in the near wall zone on gas–liquid two-phase flow induced corrosion in pipelines, the hydrodynamic characteristics of fully developed gas–liquid slug flow in an upward tube are investigated with limiting diffusion current probes, conductivity probes and digital high-speed video system. The Taylor bubble and the falling liquid film characteristics are studied, the effects of various factors are examined, and the experimental results are compared with the data and models available in literature. The length of Taylor bubble, the local void fraction of the slug unit and the liquid slug, the shear stress and mass transfer coefficient in the near wall zone, are all increased with the increase of superficial gas velocity and decreased with the increase of superficial liquid velocity, whereas the length of liquid slug and the liquid slug frequency are changed contrarily. The alternate wall shear stress due to upward gas–liquid slug flow is considered to be one of the major causes for the corrosion production film fatigue cracking. A normalized formula for mass transfer coefficient is obtained based on the experimental data.

Correlation between high ionic conductivity and twin structure of La0.95Sr0.05Ga0.9Mg0.1O3−δ

The electric transport properties of La0.95Sr0.05Ga0.9Mg0.1O3−δ (LSGM) crystal with ⟨001⟩p direction grown by the Czochralski method were investigated mainly using ac measurements. The LSGM crystal comprises twin structures composed of different domain states. Only the highest-frequency semicircle was observed in impedance spectroscopy; however, two dielectric relaxation peaks exist in the loss tangent. These results indicate that the equivalent circuit of the twin structures is a parallel R-C circuit because they exhibit two parallel diffusion paths of O2− ions: one path is within the domains and the other is along the domain walls. Based on the migration energies of O2− in the domains and along the domain walls, which are estimated from dielectric relaxation processes, resistances of ionic conductions therein are assessed separately. These assessments explain that low resistance for oxygen ionic conduction along the domain walls considerably reduces the resultant resistance of the LSGM crystal and oxygen vacancies segregate preferentially in domain wall zones. A comparison between these results and those of a polycrystalline LSGM ceramic obtained experimentally suggests that the twin structures within the grains in ceramic lanthanum gallates are one of the main reasons for the high ionic conductivity.

Experimental and numerical study of downward bubbly flow in a pipe

An experimental and numerical study of the local structure of downward gas–liquid flow in a vertical pipe with 20-mm inner diameter is reported. In the experiment, the electrodiffusion technique was used in combination with electrical conductivity measurements. To examine the effect of gas-phase dispersion on flow characteristics, two different gas–liquid mixers were used capable of producing large-diameter (>1 mm) and small-diameter (<1 mm) gas bubbles at identical rate characteristics of the flow. The unified heterogeneous-medium mechanics approach was used to develop, in the Eulerian two-velocity approximation, a calculation model for downward turbulent liquid/air bubble flows. It is shown that, as the volumetric gas flow rate of the mixture at the inlet to the pipe increases, local maxima of continuous phase velocity and bubble concentration emerge in the near-wall zone of the flow, with liquid turbulence suppressed in the wall zone and enhanced in the core of the flow.

THE TANCO PEGMATITE AT BERNIC LAKE, MANITOBA. XVI. ZONAL AND BULK COMPOSITIONS AND THEIR PETROGENETIC SIGNIFICANCE

The Tanco pegmatite deposit at Bernic Lake, in southeastern Manitoba, is a virtually completely hidden, essentially undeformed, subhorizontal, bilobate, saddle-shaped body ~1520 m long, 1060 m wide and up to ~100 m thick. The highly fractionated pegmatite of the LCT family, rare-element class, petalite subtype, consists of nine internal zones. The outer zones are concentric, whereas the layered inner zones are segmented and locally complex in shape. A 3D computer model representation of the pegmatite assisted in calculation of volumes and compositions of individual zones and of the whole pegmatite, based on 102 km of 1355 drill-hole intersections, underground observations, measured and estimated mineral modes of the zones, zone-specific compositions and densities of minerals, and ore grades. The early outer zones tend to show granitic modes, but the inner zones strongly deviate in proportions of feldspars, or by high enrichment in lithium minerals, and some of the zones are virtually monomineralic. The bulk mode of Tanco is granitic, except ~9 vol.% petalite (including spodumene + quartz pseudomorphs). Despite also being economically significant for Cs, Ta and Li, the pegmatite contains less than 1 vol.% of any other non-micaceous minerals, and less than 0.1% of most of them. The bulk chemical composition closely reflects the modal relationships: it is peraluminous, and granitic, with prominent enrichment in Li, Rb, Cs and F, moderate contents of Tl, Be, B, Ga, Sn, Nb and Ta, and remarkable depletion in Fe, Mn, Mg, Ca, Ba, Sc, Ti and Zr. A very high degree of fractionation is shown for the bulk pegmatite by the values K/Rb 4.7, K/Cs 9.3, Rb/Cs 2.0, Rb/Tl 137, Fe/Mn 0.63, Mg/Li 0.02, Al/Ga 917, Zr/Hf 2.6, Zr/Sn 0.21 and Nb/Ta 0.19. Zonal and bulk chemical composition is in rough agreement with the experimental thermal trough in the system Ab + Qtz + Ecr at 2 kbar P(H2O), but shifted toward the Ab apex by elevated B, P and F, and by the voluminous wall-zone. The composition of the wall zone (20) is remarkably similar to that of bulk Tanco, except for the elevated contents of rare elements in the latter that are concentrated in the intermediate and inner zones. In turn, zone (20) is very close to the composition of nearby, somewhat less fractionated peraluminous leucogranites that are parental to local genetically related pegmatite groups. The wall zone (20), which composes 44 vol.% of Tanco, represents by analogy a petrogenetic link between an undisclosed parent leucogranite and the Tanco deposit. These relationships document derivation of the Tanco pegmatite and its analogues elsewhere by igneous differentiation from a fertile leucogranitic magma.

Redox Activation of Aldose Reductase in the Ischemic Heart

Aldose reductase (AR) reduces cytotoxic aldehydes and glutathione conjugates of aldehydes derived from lipid peroxidation. Its inhibition has been shown to increase oxidative injury and abolish the late phase of ischemic preconditioning. However, the mechanisms by which ischemia regulates AR activity remain unclear. Herein, we report that rat hearts subjected to ischemia, in situ or ex vivo, display a 2-4-fold increase in AR activity. The AR activity was not further enhanced by reperfusion. Activation increased Vmax of the enzyme without affecting the Km and decreased the sensitivity of the enzyme to inhibition by sorbinil. Enzyme activation could be prevented by pretreating the hearts with the radical scavenging thiol, N-(2-mercaptoproprionyl)glycine or the superoxide dismutase mimetic, Tiron, or by treating homogenates with dithiothreitol. In vitro, the recombinant enzyme was activated upon treatment with H2O2 and the activated, but not the native enzyme, formed a covalent adduct with the sulfenic acid-specific reagent dimedone. The enzyme activity in the ischemic, but not the nonischemic heart homogenates was inhibited by dimedone. Separation of proteins from hearts subjected to coronary occlusion by two-dimensional electrophoresis and subsequent matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight/mass spectrometry analysis revealed the formation of sulfenic acids at Cys-298 and Cys-303. These data indicate that reactive oxygen species formed in the ischemic heart activate AR by modifying its cysteine residues to sulfenic acids.

Direct numerical simulation of turbulent non-Newtonian flow using a spectral element method

A spectral element—Fourier method (SEM) for Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) of the turbulent flow of non-Newtonian fluids is described and the particular requirements for non-Newtonian rheology are discussed. The method is implemented in parallel using the MPI message passing kernel, and execution times scale somewhat less than linearly with the number of CPUs, however this is more than compensated by the improved simulation turn around times. The method is applied to the case of turbulent pipe flow, where simulation results for a shear-thinning (power law) fluid are compared to those of a yield stress (Herschel–Bulkley) fluid at the same generalised Reynolds number. It is seen that the yield stress significantly dampens turbulence intensities in the core of the flow where the quasi-laminar flow region there co-exists with a transitional wall zone. An additional simulation of the flow of blood in a channel is undertaken using a Carreau–Yasuda rheology model, and results compared to those of the one-equation Spalart-Allmaras RANS (Reynolds-Averaged Navier–Stokes) model. Agreement between the mean flow velocity profile predictions is seen to be good. Use of a DNS technique to study turbulence in non-Newtonian fluids shows great promise in understanding transition and turbulence in shear thinning, non-Newtonian flows.

Hydrodynamics and structure of two-phase flow in the bubbling regime in small-diameter tubes

Experimental data on the true gas void fraction in a vertical tube under the bubbling flow regime are presented. A generalization of these data on the basis of the drift flow model of Zuber with the distribution parameter C0 = 1.2 and the weighted average gas velocity u2j = 0.16 m/s is given. The results of assessing the parameters of the downcoming flow of the fluid in the near wall zone are shown.

Native Cell Wall Organization Shown by Cryo-Electron Microscopy Confirms the Existence of a Periplasmic Space in Staphylococcus aureus

The current perception of the ultrastructure of gram-positive cell envelopes relies mainly on electron microscopy of thin sections and on sample preparation. Freezing of cells into a matrix of amorphous ice (i.e., vitrification) results in optimal specimen preservation and allows the observation of cell envelope boundary layers in their (frozen) hydrated state. In this report, cryo-transmission electron microscopy of frozen-hydrated sections of Staphylococcus aureus D2C was used to examine cell envelope organization. A bipartite wall was positioned above the plasma membrane and consisted of a 16-nm low-density inner wall zone (IWZ), followed by a 19-nm high-density outer wall zone (OWZ). Observation of plasmolyzed cells, which were used to artificially separate the membrane from the wall, showed membrane vesicles within the space associated with the IWZ in native cells and a large gap between the membrane and OWZ, suggesting that the IWZ was devoid of a cross-linked polymeric cell wall network. Isolated wall fragments possessed only one zone of high density, with a constant level of density throughout their thickness, as was previously seen with the OWZs of intact cells. These results strongly indicate that the IWZ represents a periplasmic space, composed mostly of soluble low-density constituents confined between the plasma membrane and OWZ, and that the OWZ represents the peptidoglycan-teichoic acid cell wall network with its associated proteins. Cell wall differentiation was also seen at the septum of dividing cells. Here, two high-density zones were sandwiched between three low-density zones. It appeared that the septum consisted of an extension of the IWZ and OWZ from the outside peripheral wall, plus a low-density middle zone that separated adjacent septal cross walls, which could contribute to cell separation during division.

Three-dimensional neutronics assessment of dual coolant molten salt blankets with comparison to one-dimensional results

Detailed three-dimensional (3-D) neutronics calculations have been performed for the dual coolant molten salt blanket designs. The model includes the detailed heterogeneous geometrical arrangement of the inboard (IB) and outboard (OB) blanket sectors. The total tritium breeding ratio (TBR) is ∼1.07. The 1-D calculations tend to overestimate nuclear heating in the blanket by ∼8% resulting in overestimating the plant thermal power. The approximate 1-D calculations overestimate damage and nuclear heating in the first wall (FW) and front zone of the blanket by factors of 1.3–1.7 but result in a steeper radial drop leading to significant underestimation (by up to a factor of 3) of nuclear parameters at the back. The 1-D calculations significantly underestimate radiation damage in the shield and vacuum vessel behind the blanket.

The Role of Exo-(1→4)-β-galactanase in the Mobilization of Polysaccharides from the Cotyledon Cell Walls of Lupinus angustifolius Following Germination

The cotyledons of Lupinus angustifolius contain large amounts of cell wall storage polysaccharide (CWSP) composed mainly of (1-->4)-beta-linked D-galactose residues in the form of branches attached to a rhamnogalacturonan core molecule. An exo-(1-->4)-beta-galactanase with a very high specificity towards (1-->4)-beta-linked D-galactan has been isolated from L. angustifolius cotyledons, and shown to vary (activity and specific protein) in step with CWSP mobilization. This work aimed to confirm the hypothesis that galactan is the main polymer retrieved from the wall during mobilization at the ultrastructural level, using the purified exo-galactanase as a probe. Storage mesophyll cell walls ('ghosts') were isolated from the cotyledons of imbibed but ungerminated lupin seeds, and also from cotyledons of seedlings after the mobilization of the CWSP. The pure exo-(1-->4)-beta-galactanase was coupled to colloidal gold particles and shown to be a specific probe for (1-->4)-beta-D-galactan. They were used to localize galactan in ultrathin sections of L. angustifolius cotyledonary mesophyll tissue during CWSP mobilization. On comparing the morphologies of isolated cell walls, the post-mobilization 'ghosts' did not have the massive wall-thickenings of pre-mobilization walls. Compositional analysis showed that the post-mobilization walls were depleted in galactose and, to a lesser extent, in arabinose. When pre-mobilization ghosts were treated with the pure exo-galactanase, they became morphologically similar to the post-mobilization ghosts. They were depleted of approximately 70% of the galactose residues that would have been mobilized in vivo, and retained all the other sugar residues originally present. Sharply defined electron-transparent wall zones or pockets are associated with CWSP mobilization, being totally free of galactan, whereas wall areas immediately adjacent to them were apparently undepleted. The exo-(1-->4)-beta-galactanase is the principal enzyme involved in CWSP mobilization in lupin cotyledons in vivo. The storage walls dramatically change their texture during mobilization as most of the galactan is hydrolysed during seedling development.

Systemic induction of H2O2 in pea seedlings pretreated by wounding and exogenous jasmonic acid.

Pea seedlings (Pisum sativum L.) were used as materials to test the timings and compartments of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) triggered by wounding and exogenous jasmonic acid (JA). The results showed that H2O2 could be systemically induced by wounding and exogenous JA. H2O2 increased within 1 h and reached the peak 3-5 h after wounding in either the wounded leaves or the unwounded leaves adjacent to the wounded ones and the inferior leaves far from the wounded ones. After this, H2O2 decreased and recovered to the control level 12 h after wounding. The activities of antioxidant enzymes, however, were rapidly increased by wounding. Diphenylene iodonium (DPI), an inhibitor of NADPH oxidase, could significantly inhibit H2O2 burst that was mediated by wounding and exogenous JA. Assay of H2O2 subcellular location showed that H2O2 in response to wounding and exogenous JA was predominantly accumulated in plasma membrane, cell wall and apoplasmic space. Numerous JA (gold particles) was found via immunogold electron microscopy to be located in cell wall and phloem zones of mesophyll cell after wounding.

Cryo‐electron microscopy reveals native polymeric cell wall structure in Bacillus subtilis 168 and the existence of a periplasmic space

Ultrarapid freezing of bacteria (i.e. vitrification) results in optimal preservation of native structure. In this study, cryo-transmission electron microscopy of frozen-hydrated sections was used to gain insight into the organization of the Bacillus subtilis 168 cell envelope. A bipartite structure was seen above the plasma membrane consisting of a low-density 22 nm region above which a higher-density 33 nm region or outer wall zone (OWZ) resided. The interface between these two regions appeared to possess the most mass. In intact and in teichoic acid-extracted wall fragments, only a single region was seen but the mass distribution varied from being dense on the inside to less dense on the outside (i.e. similar to the OWZ). In plasmolysed cells, the inner wall zone (IWZ)'s thickness expanded in size but the OWZ's thickness remained constant. As the IWZ expanded it became filled with plasma membrane vesicles indicating that the IWZ had little substance and was empty of the wall's polymeric network of peptidoglycan and teichoic acid. Together these results strongly suggest that the inner zone actually represents a periplasmic space confined between the plasma membrane and the wall matrix and that the OWZ is the peptidoglycan-teichoic acid polymeric network of the wall.

Simultaneous assessment of left‐ventricular infarction size, function and tissue viability in a murine model of myocardial infarction by cardiac manganese‐enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MEMRI)

Owing to its signal-enhancing characteristics in viable well-perfused tissue, divalent manganese (Mn2+) has been used as a myocardial imaging contrast agent. Because Mn2+ can enter excitable cells through the voltage-gated L-type calcium channels, manganese-enhanced MRI (MEMRI) has been used to determine the viability and the inotropic state of the heart. In this study, we examined the correlation between left ventricular infarction zone as assessed by cardiac MEMRI and function in mice with permanent coronary artery occlusion. At an Mn2+ infusion dose of 1.72+/-0.47 nmol/min/g body weight, the steady-state signal intensity (SI) enhancement 20-26 min post-Mn2+ infusion of the normal septum and left-ventricular wall during diastole was 128.2+/-14.4 and 127.9+/-26.5%, respectively, whereas the infarction zone was 56.0+/-7.1%. During systole, the SI enhancement was 144.6+/-33.0, 116.0+/-18.7 and 48.3+/-20.0% for the normal septum, left-ventricular wall and infarction zone, respectively. A good correlation was obtained between the MEMRI determined infarction volume and conventional histological TTC staining (r = 0.9582, p<0.01). There was also a strong negative correlation between MEMRI determined infarction percentage (compared with whole left ventricle) and ejection fraction (r = -0.94, p<0.05). These data suggest that the Mn2+ concentration at steady state in the heart may reflect altered tissue viability in the infarcted tissue as well as surrounding region following myocardial infarction. In conclusion, in vivo cardiac MEMRI offers a manner in which functional, pathologic and viability data may be obtained simultaneously in myocardial tissue.

On the Modeling of Flow in Packed Bed Systems

Modeling of flow and its impact on transport phenomena in packed bed systems is discussed. A detailed flow model based on an improved Brinkman equation has been derived and its solution is presented. This model incorporates a representative voidage function that enabled the generation of velocity profiles that closely followed the voidage profile and highlighted the importance of the wall zone. Two approximate flow models from the literature have been used to obtain velocity profiles for the purpose of comparison with the model derived herein. Significant differences were observed in the location and magnitude of velocity maxima predicted by the various models employed in this work. The impact of such findings on transport phenomena is discussed. A method to obtain a wall zone velocity is suggested to facilitate estimation of transport parameters near the wall.

Heat Exchange in a Tube Filled with Granular Bed

Results of modeling of the process of heat transfer from a circular tube filled with granular bed with boundary conditions of the first, second, and third kind have been presented. The physical characteristics of the wall zone and the relative value of its thermal resistance have been determined based on an analysis of experimental data on the nonstationary heat exchange of the unblown granular bed. Recommendations on calculation of the heat exchange at elevated temperatures have been given.

Microraman Study of Single Wall Carbn Nanotubes Obtained by Arc Method Using Metal and Oxide Catalysts

Single wall carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were synthesised by the arc method (He atmosphere) using Pt/WO3, Ni/Co and Ni/Co/Fe, Ni/Y2O3 and NiO/Y2O3 as catalysts. The samples were collected in two regions of reactor: the collar and the wall zones. The presence of oxygen in the catalyst decreased the carbon impurities (amorphous carbon and graphite). Raman scattering and TEM were used as characterisation tools. Different CNT yields were found for the different catalysts: almost zero or a very poor yield for the Pt/ WO3 and ternary Ni/Co/Fe metal catalysts, better and promising results for the Ni/Co catalyst, especially after treatment with nitric acid, and for metal - oxide and oxide - oxide catalysts based on Ni/Y2O3 and NiO/Y2O3.

Increased resistance to pod shatter is associated with changes in the vascular structure in pods of a resynthesized Brassica napus line.

The architecture of the pod wall and dehiscence zone (DZ) was studied in populations of a resynthesized, shatter-resistant, oilseed rape line, DK142, and the commercial cultivar Apex. The dimensions of the pod wall and its component tissues were significantly larger in DK142. However, the variation in the pod architecture of Apex, DK142 and F2 populations derived from crosses of DK142 and Apex was found to have little or no role in pod shatter. By contrast, variation in the dimensions of the DZ characters correlated strongly and positively with shatter resistance. The size of the main vascular bundle (MVBV) of DK142 as it exited the valve and joined the vascular tissue of the replum was, on average, 60% larger than in Apex, the DZ was 40% wider and there was a high preponderance of vascular tissue other than the MVBV. The variation in the size of the MVBV accounted for much of the variation in shatter resistance of all populations, including shatter-susceptible Apex. The DZ width was also found to be important in explaining the limited range of shatter values in Apex, but in populations of DK142 and F2, where the amount of vascular intrusion into the DZ was much greater, the variation in DZ width was not important. The importance of the vascular tissue to shatter resistance was further highlighted by a novel microfracture test (MFT). By contrast, no significant difference between DK142 and Apex in the ease of separation of the thin-walled DZ cells was detected using the MFT.

GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY OF THE LITTLE NAHANNI RARE-ELEMENT GRANITIC PEGMATITES, NORTHWEST TERRITORIES

The Little Nahanni rare-element granitic pegmatite group (LNPG; ca. 82 Ma) in the western part of the Northwest Territories, occurs as subparallel dike swarms over an area of ~11 × 5 km in the walls of a series of cirques dominated by schists of the Upper Proterozoic Hyland Group. These pegmatite bodies, up to a few meter wide, are divisible into spodumene-bearing and spodumene-free varieties that occur close together; some dikes split into these two variants. The two types are mineralogically similar. Both contain K-feldspar, plagioclase, quartz, mica (muscovite to lepidolite), columbite-group minerals, cassiterite, tourmaline, beryl, lithiophilite and garnet; they differ in the abundance of mica and accessory phases. The spodumene-free pegmatites have more mica, particularly lepidolite, than the spodumene-bearing variety. Apatite and montebrasite occur primarily in the former, whereas most lithiophilite is present in the latter. Sparse galena, titanian rutile, fluorite and helvite are also found in both variants. Subsolidus phases are zeolite-group minerals, microlite, and secondary phosphate minerals such as triploidite. Internal zoning in both pegmatites varies from complex to symmetrical. Where well developed, the zoning is typical from border through wall and intermediate to core zone. Quartz and the feldspars occur throughout the dikes. Micas and columbite-group minerals initially increase from the border to the wall zone and subsequently decrease toward the core, whereas tourmaline becomes less abundant toward the core. Spodumene and cassiterite first appear in the wall zone and become more abundant toward the core zone, whereas the reverse is true for beryl. Phosphate minerals exist mainly in the intermediate zone of the lepidolite pegmatites, and lithiophilite in the spodumene pegmatites. Garnet remains a trace mineral in all zones, with the exception of the core zone. where it is absent. Sporadic small cavities containing quartz, K-feldspar, apatite, Mg-rich beryl, elbaite and calcite are present in some dikes. The composition of the rock-forming minerals in both types of pegmatite is similar. An example of the chemical evolution of the minerals is shown by tourmaline, which becomes richer in Al and Li, but poorer in Mg, and shows decreasing Na/(Na + vacancy) and increasing Al/(Al + Fe) values from the schist to the inner (wall + intermediate) zone of the pegmatite. These trends, together with the changes in the abundances and paragenetic sequence of the major minerals, are interpreted to reflect an increase in the Rb, Cs, Li, F, P, Be, and Ta contents, and a decrease in the contents of Mg, Fe, and B contents, in the felsic liquids during crystallization.