MICROSCOPIC FEATURES OF CERTAIN ALBERTA COALS

1936 ◽  
Vol 14b (8) ◽  
pp. 275-298
Author(s):  
I. W. Jones
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Microscopic Examination ◽  
Resin Content ◽  
Wide Field ◽  
Southwestern Part ◽  
Thin Sections ◽  
Coal Deposits ◽  
Microscopic Features

Microscopic examination of Alberta coals shows that they are composed principally of materials derived from the woody parts of plants. Many woody structures are visible in thin sections and on polished and etched surfaces. Spores are present in the coals, but are relatively few in number. The resin content varies considerably, attaining a high proportion in the cannel coals of the Crowsnest Pass region in British Columbia, bordering the southwestern part of Alberta. The correlation of seams in the Alberta coal deposits on the basis of their microscopical characters has not yet proved to be feasible. A wide field is open here for palaeobotanical research on the nature and classification of the plant structures visible in these coals by means of the microscope. The investigation described here may be considered as being relatively only a beginning to further work that should be done in the study of the microscopical features of Alberta coals by the geologist, chemist and botanist.

EXISTING AND POSSIBLE NEW GLEYSOLIC ORDER CRITERIA APPLIED TO FIVE PEDONS FROM BRITISH COLUMBIA

1986 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 323-336 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. McKEAGUE ◽  
C. TARNOCAI ◽  
H. A. LUTTMERDING
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Thin Sections ◽  
Soil Water Regime ◽  
Reducing Conditions ◽  
Current Classification ◽  
Bulk Chemical ◽  
Iron Manganese ◽  
Iron And Manganese ◽  
Do So

Use of the current criteria for distinguishing Gleysolic soils from gleyed intergrades to other soil classes resulted in the apparent misclassification of some soils in British Columbia. Pedologists of the area selected five pedons encompassing several degrees of expression of gley features. Current classification criteria based on soil color and possible new differentiating features based on chemical and micromorphological analyses were applied in considering the classification of the soils. Application of the current specific color criteria involving low chromas and prominent mottling result in the classification of three pedons in the Gleysolic order and two in gleyed subgroups of other orders. This classification was appropriate in the view of B.C. pedologists except for one Gleysolic pedon in which the water table is rarely within 1 m of the surface. Prior to drainage, however, the soil was probably saturated to the surface and under reducing conditions for prolonged periods each year. Thus, classification as a Gleysolic soil is appropriate as it probably reflects the prevailing conditions and processes during most of the period of soil genesis.Segregation of iron and manganese as nodules and coatings was most marked in the Gleysolic pedons. Walls of some voids were bleached due to depletion of iron oxides. Though study of thin sections, bulk chemical analysis and analysis of specific features by scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM-EDXRA) were useful in providing information on soil properties, they did not indicate an improved basis for differentiating Gleysolic soils from others. The color criteria used to distinguish soils of the Gleysolic order do not necessarily reflect the current soil water regime, and they are not intended to do so. The current criteria resulted in the appropriate classification of the five soils. Key words: Gleying, reduction, iron, manganese, micromorphology, SEM-EDXRA

The microscopic examination of the structure of sub-surface horizons of soils

1976 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 348-354 ◽  
Author(s):  
P Bullock ◽  
C P Murphy
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscope ◽  
Scanning Electron Microscope ◽  
Microscopic Examination ◽  
Soil Structure ◽  
Thin Sections ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Cultural Conditions ◽  
Structural Types ◽  
Scanning Electron

What is meant by “soil structure”? Microscopic examination of thin sections of soil, using such instruments as the polarising microscope, X-ray diffractometer and scanning electron microscope has enabled a classification of the components of soils and their structural types to be built up. Now with the aid of the image-analysing computer these components can be quantified rapidly, characteristics may be calculated and their behaviour under varying cultural conditions predicted.

scholarly journals VI.—Notes on the Witwatersrand Beds, Transvaal

1903 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 543-547 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederick H. Hatch
Keyword(s):  
Microscopic Examination ◽  
Gold Deposits ◽  
Igneous Intrusion ◽  
Thin Sections ◽  
Igneous Origin

In discussing a paper by Mr. J. S. Curtis on the Witwatersrand Gold Deposits, Mr. George Denny has raised the point that the slates or shales of the Witwatersrand, which especially characterise, but are not confined to, the Lower Witwatersrand Beds (Hospital Hill Series), are not of sedimentary, but of igneous origin. He relies chiefly on the fact that he has observed in places that a so-called band of slate cuts across the bedding of the quartzites. I think we are all prepared to agree with him that, where he can point out that this occurs, the rock which traverses the bedded formation must be an igneous intrusion; but such cases are rare. In the vast majority of sections where the slates are exposed, they are found to occur truly bedded, and in conformable relation with the quartzites with which they are associated. It seems to me that, after all, this is in the main a petrological question, which can be easily settled by the examination of the rocks in question under the microscope.With this end in view I have examined a number of thin sections of these rocks, in all cases prepared from the cores of boreholes, on account of the difficulty of obtaining near the surface specimens sufficiently fresh and unweathered for microscopic examination; and I have selected geological horizons which are well known on the Witwatersrand. They are (1) the band of slates which occurs in the neighbourhood of the Bird Reef Series, and (2) the slates which occur in the footwall of the Main Reef itself, in both cases in the eastern portion of the Witwatersrand, as at Van Ryn and Geduld.

scholarly journals Fall-related deaths among older adults in British Columbia: cause and effect of policy change

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
pp. 412-416 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aayushi Joshi ◽  
Fahra Rajabali ◽  
Kate Turcotte ◽  
M Denise Beaton ◽  
Ian Pike
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Policy Change ◽  
Mortality Data ◽  
Reporting Practices ◽  
Change In Practice ◽  
Classification Of Diseases ◽  
International Statistical Classification ◽  
Underlying Causes ◽  
Causes Of Deaths

BackgroundThe British Columbia Coroners Service implemented a policy in 2010 advising the reclassification of underlying causes of deaths due to falls from ‘natural’ to ‘accidental’. This study investigates whether observed data trends reflect this change in practice, are artefacts of inconsistent reporting, or indicate a true increase in fall-related deaths.MethodsMortality data were analysed from 2004 to 2017 for cases with International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th Revision fall codes W00–W19, occurring among adults aged 60 years and older.ResultsFrom 2010 to 2012, accidental fall-related deaths increased among those aged 80 years and older, followed by an increase in natural deaths with fall as the contributing cause.ConclusionsChanges in reporting resulting from the 2010 policy change were observed; however, post-2012 data indicate a reversion to previous reporting practices.

scholarly journals Deep learning and taphonomy: high accuracy in the classification of cut marks made on fleshed and defleshed bones using convolutional neural networks

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriel Cifuentes-Alcobendas ◽  
Manuel Domínguez-Rodrigo
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Accurate Method ◽  
High Accuracy ◽  
Machine Learning Algorithms ◽  
Accurate Identification ◽  
Cut Marks ◽  
Eating Meat ◽  
Microscopic Features ◽  
Immense Potential

AbstractAccurate identification of bone surface modifications (BSM) is crucial for the taphonomic understanding of archaeological and paleontological sites. Critical interpretations of when humans started eating meat and animal fat or when they started using stone tools, or when they occupied new continents or interacted with predatory guilds impinge on accurate identifications of BSM. Until now, interpretations of Plio-Pleistocene BSM have been contentious because of the high uncertainty in discriminating among taphonomic agents. Recently, the use of machine learning algorithms has yielded high accuracy in the identification of BSM. A branch of machine learning methods based on imaging, computer vision (CV), has opened the door to a more objective and accurate method of BSM identification. The present work has selected two extremely similar types of BSM (cut marks made on fleshed an defleshed bones) to test the immense potential of artificial intelligence methods. This CV approach not only produced the highest accuracy in the classification of these types of BSM until present (95% on complete images of BSM and 88.89% of images of only internal mark features), but it also has enabled a method for determining which inconspicuous microscopic features determine successful BSM discrimination. The potential of this method in other areas of taphonomy and paleobiology is enormous.

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