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During the second phase of the Alpine Fault, Deep Fault Drilling Project (DFDP) in the Whataroa River, South Westland, New Zealand, bedrock was encountered in the DFDP-2B borehole from 238.5-893.2 m Measured Depth (MD). Continuous sampling and meso-to microscale characterization of whole rock cuttings established that, in sequence, the borehole sampled amphibolite facies, Torlesse Composite Terrane-derived schists, protomylonites, and mylonites, terminating 200-400 m above an Alpine Fault Principal Slip Zone (PSZ) with a maximum dip of 62°. The most diagnostic structural features of increasing PSZ proximity were the occurrence of shear bands and reduction in mean quartz grain sizes. A change in composition to greater mica:quartz+feldspar, most markedly below ~ 700 m MD, is inferred to result from either heterogeneous sampling or a change in lithology related to alteration. Major oxide variations suggest the fault-proximal Alpine Fault alteration zone, as previously defined in DFDP-1 core, was not sampled.

A quantitative evaluation of the public response to climate engineering Wright, M., Teagle, D. and Feetham, P. (2014) A quantitative evaluation of the public response to climate engineering, Nature Climate Change, 4(2), 106--110 http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2087 The United Nations has sought carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions controls to address the risks of climate change through the Kyoto Protocol and the Copenhagen Diagnosis. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warn that if average global surface temperatures rise more than 2 °C above pre-industrial levels, the effects on the Earth's eco-systems and species will be extensive. 1 Average global surface temperatures have risen around 0.74 °C in the last one hundred years and a further rise of 0.6 °C is believed inevitable. 2 Unless CO 2 emissions are reduced by 50 percent before 2050, average global surface warming will exceed 2 °C this century. 3 Present methods of mitigation and adaptation appear inadequate, as growth in atmospheric carbon dioxide continues unchecked. 4,5,6,7 3The failure of existing mitigation methods has led to investigation of alternative solutions including climate engineering, defined as deliberate large-scale manipulation of the planetary environment to counteract anthropogenic climate change. 4 Initial qualitative work to engage the public on climate engineering has taken place in the United Kingdom and included small group discussions, open access events and a qualitative on-line survey of stakeholders. 10,11 These showed low awareness of climate engineering, but a preference for CDR over SRM on the basis that CDR techniques mitigate increasing atmospheric CO 2 , the root cause of anthropogenic climate change. This smallsample qualitative approach was further applied to stratospheric aerosols, identifying considerable public discomfort with this particular technique. 12,13 Large-scale quantitative work remains at an exploratory stage. One study examined public perceptions of SRM and the characteristics of those who were more, or less, opposed in North America and the United Kingdom, but did not compare specific SRM or CDR techniques. 14 Another US-based study used a split sample to compare two relatively safe (n=506) and two less safe (n=500) climate engineering techniques. However, the concept presentations were not adequately controlled, and a large bias eventuated between the subsamples. 15 A third study (n=1822) used one sentence descriptions of CDR and SRM to 4 gauge relative support in the United Kingdom, but did not investigate any technique in detail. 16 Here we report large-scale quantitative work that systematically examines and compares public reaction to six climate engineering techniques in a controlled fashion. We draw on techniques from Marketing, a discipline with extensive experience in public engagement and evaluation of concepts. Brand researchers are lead users of the psychological techniques used to elicit congitive associations, and have deployed these in large-scale surveys to evaluate b...

SummaryThis workshop report describes plans for scientific drilling in the Samail ophiolite in Oman in the context of past, current, and future research. Long-standing plans to study formation and evolution of the Samail crust and upper mantle, involving igneous and metamorphic processes at an oceanic spreading center, have been augmented by recent interest in ongoing, low temperature processes. These include alteration and weathering, and the associated sub-surface biosphere supported by chemical potential energy due to disequilibrium between mantle peridotite and water near the surface. This interest is motivated in part by the possibility of geological carbon capture and storage via engineered, accelerated mineral carbonation in Oman. Our International Continental Drilling Program (ICDP)proposal led to the Workshop on Scientific Drilling in the Samail Ophiolite in Palisades, New York, on 13-17 September 2012. There were seventy-seven attendees from eleven countries, including twenty early career scientists.After keynote presentations on overarching science themes, participants in working groups and plenary sessions outlined a ~U.S.$2 million drilling plan that practically addresses testable hypotheses and areas of frontier discovery in the following areas.• understanding the subsurface biosphere • characterizing the rates and mechanisms of ongoing mineral hydration and carbonation • characterizing chemical and physical processes of mass transfer across a subduction zone • evaluating well-posed hypotheses on hydrothermal circulation, cooling, and emplacement mechanisms of igneous rocks in the lower crust • investigating key problems in the dynamics of mantle flow and melt transport beneath oceanic spreading ridgesThis report places these goals in the context of complementary research via ocean drilling and ongoing studies of active processes at oceanic spreading centers, subduction zones, and peridotite-hosted hydrothermal systems. We end with an outline of the synergy between Oman drilling and the specific drilling proposed in the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) proposal "Mohole to Mantle Project (M2M)", IODP Proposal 805-MDP. Workshop Proceedings and ResultsKeynote speakers outlined hypotheses and areas of frontier scientific exploration to be addressed via drilling, including• the nature of mantle upwelling, • the chemical and physical mechanisms of mantle melt transport, • the processes of lower crustal accretion and cooling, • the frequency and magnitude of microseismicity during weathering, • the rate and location of ongoing alteration, and • the composition, density, and spatial distribution of subsurface microbial communities.Additional keynote talks covered state-of-the-art geological logging of drillcore, geophysical logging in boreholes, and data management.Breakout groups considered overarching science themes, then designed idealized projects to address these themes, and finally considered practical constraints. We agreed to focus on studies relevant to global processes. There was a consen...