Marie Jackson

The history of mineral components in cementitious materials begins with clays and bitumen in the most ancient mortars, followed by gypsum- and lime-based plasters, mortars, and concretes. Romans perfected the fabrication of extremely durable mortars that form the basis of audacious architectural monuments in Rome, massive harbor constructions, and water-proofed cisterns in the Mediterranean region. During the industrial revolution, “natural cements” were developed through the burning of impure limestone or Si- and Al-bearing materials blended with pure limestone. Delving into the past of concrete science and the composition, durability, and resilience of historic binders, mortars, and concretes can inspire the development of modern environmentally friendly cementitious materials.

The island of Surtsey was formed in 1963–1967 on the offshore Icelandic volcanic rift zone. It offers a unique opportunity to study the subsurface biosphere in newly formed oceanic crust and an associated hydrothermal-seawater system, whose maximum temperature is currently above 120°C at about 100m below surface. Here, we present new insights into the diversity, distribution, and abundance of microorganisms in the subsurface of the island, 50years after its creation. Samples, including basaltic tuff drill cores and associated fluids acquired at successive depths as well as surface fumes from fumaroles, were collected during expedition 5059 of the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program specifically designed to collect microbiological samples. Results of this microbial survey are investigated with 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and scanning electron microscopy. To distinguish endemic microbial taxa of subsurface rocks from potential contaminants present in the drilli...

Horace could more accurately have compared the celebrated lifespan of his poems to the extremely durable concrete monuments that were being constructed in Rome and the harbors of the Mediterranean region by his patron, Octavian, who would become Emperor Augustus (27 BCE– 14 CE) (Figure 1a–c). Bronzes irreversibly and inexorably decay through chloride corrosion in coastal and marine environments, and Egyptian pyramids are now collapsing—having suffered progressive differential movement and detachment of their limestone blocks, probably through anisotropic thermal expansion of calcite during heating by transit of the sun in the desert and subsequent disruption through seismic ground shaking. I have crafted a monument more lasting than bronze, more imposing than the royal structure of the pyramids, one that neither eroding rain nor the furious North Wind can bring to ruin, nor the passage of countless years and the flight of time.

<p>Submarine volcanic activity was observed in the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago off the south coast of Iceland in November 1963, at a location where the pre-eruption oceanic depth was 130 m.  The eruption continued until July 1967. As a result of the eruption, a volcanic island, Surtsey, and its short-lived satellite islands (Surtla, Syrtlingur, and Jólnir) were created.  The progression of the eruption was very well documented at the time.  However, data on structures below sea level has been limited to drillholes on the rim of the Surtur crater on the main Surtsey island.  In order to study the existence and possible location of pillow lava from the initial phases of the eruption and shallow intrusions within and below the edifices formed in 1963-1967, a six-hour-long aeromagnetic survey was completed in October 2021 over the Surtsey area. The survey is done using a Geometrics MagArrow drone magnetometer, here adapted for operation while fixed to an aircraft. The survey covered 60 km<sup>2</sup>.  The spacing between profiles was 200 m and the flight elevation 100 m a.s.l. The MagArrow has a sampling frequency of 1000 Hz, which for an aircraft flying at 50 m/s gives a reading every 5 cm. To remove noise and perturbations from the aircraft, the data is low-pass filtered in two steps, firstly by averaging 50 measurements providing 20 Hz data, then by applying low pass filter with a cutoff frequency of 0.225 Hz, removing wavelengths smaller than 200-250m.  Initial data processing indicates some variations in the sources to the anomalies observed.  Major anomalies arise from the subaerial lavas on Surtsey itself, while the submarine remnants of the island Syrtlingur, active in 1965, show no anomalies.  This suggests that it is exclusively made of tuffs with no significant intrusions, similar to the structure of Surtsey itself below sea floor according to the drill cores obtained in 1979 and 2017.  In contrast, a clear anomaly is observed over the submarine remnants of the satellite island Jólnir, which was formed over several months in 1966. Apparently, this anomaly can only be explained by a magnetic body located no deeper than at 100 m depth below the seafloor at the eastern part of Jólnir, the same location as the vent active in 1966. </p>

Underwater investigations of Porto Cristo harbor, Majorca, Spain reveal a merchant vessel shipwrecked in 50-60 CE. 'Ses Llumetes' had a heterogeneous cargo; a ~25 cm deposit of vitric-crystal-lithic tephra with armoured lapilli, as well as small fragments of ceramic and construction materials, protected the wood architecture from decay. Major and trace elements of the shipwrecked pumice are identical to pumice pozzolan from Campi Flegrei volcanic district in Roman concrete harbor structures drilled by the ROMACONS project. To understand whether the deposit represents ballast or, alternatively, pozzolan for concretes, the fabrics of the shipwrecked tephra, Campi Flegrei Bacoli Tuff and mortars of the Portus Cosanus, Santa Liberata harbor concretes are described. Tephra component classification of rimmed magma pyroclasts includes: (V) vitric armoured lapillus; fresh glass, (P) pumice armoured lapillus; altered glass, (C) crystal armoured lapillus. Rimmed edifice fragments include (VL) vitric-lithic armoured lapillus; tuff, (LL) lithic armoured lapillus; lava, (CL) crystal fragments; quartz, and (CmL) composite armoured lapillus.

A new International Continental Drilling Program (ICDP) project will drill through the 50-year-old edifice of Surtsey Volcano, the youngest of the Vestmannaeyjar Islands along the south coast of Iceland, to perform interdisciplinary time-lapse investigations of hydrothermal and microbial interactions with basaltic tephra. The volcano, created in 1963–1967 by submarine and subaerial basaltic eruptions, was first drilled in 1979. In October 2014, a workshop funded by the ICDP convened 24 scientists from 10 countries for 3 and a half days on Heimaey Island to develop scientific objectives, site the drill holes, and organize logistical support. Representatives of the Surtsey Research Society and Environment Agency of Iceland also participated. Scientific themes focus on further determinations of the structure and eruptive processes of the type locality of Surtseyan volcanism, descriptions of changes in fluid geochemistry and microbial colonization of the subterrestrial deposits since dr...

The concrete composites used to realize the monumental structures of Imperial Rome are remarkable engineering materials. While the endurance of intact constructions such as the Pantheon evinces the concretes’ durability, such durability mostly serves to preserve the mechanical properties, which are responsible both for the monuments’ original creation and continued survival. Despite their prominent role in the engineering achievements of the empire, these mechanical properties – particularly in tension and fracture – have not been comprehensively assessed. We first review the mechanical properties obtained through various experimental programs conducted on both authentic ancient composite core samples and their components, summarizing the major findings and outlining the remaining gaps in knowledge. We then qualitatively discuss the fracture of Roman concrete within the context of our own testing program, which will test both refabricated and authentic materials, with the aim of cha...

ABSTRACT Roman maritime concrete structures have remained cohesive and intact for 2000 years. The secrets to their extraordinary endurance in the aggressive sea-water environment, which attacks modern concretes through diverse physical and chemical processes, have long remained a mystery. The fundamental binding substance of all the concretes drilled by ROMACONS is a hydraulic pozzolanic mortar, a composite material formulated mainly from hydrated lime and pumiceous volcanic ash. This rough, heterogeneous material holds the clues to understanding the overall coherence and longevity of the concrete structures. Its crystalline cementitious hydrates are the nanoscale expression of Roman builders’ adept empirical expertise in building exceptionally tenacious concrete structures in the sea...

Abstract Roman hydraulic maritime concretes of the central Italian coast have pumiceous volcanic ash, or pulvis Puteolanus, from the Bay of Naples as mortar pozzolan. Petrographic and mineralogical analyses of cement microstructures in relict lime, tuff, and pumice clasts suggest that pozzolanic reaction at high pH produced gel-like calcium-aluminum-silica-hydrate cements. Orthorhombic 11 Å-tobermorite, with unit cell dimensions a= 5.591 (1) Å, b= 3.695 (1) Å, c= 22.86 (1) Å, developed in the residual cores of portlandite clasts and in ...

Scientia in Republican Era Stone and Concrete Masonry Marie D. Jackson Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94111 Cynthia K. Kosso Department of History, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, 86011 A Companion to the Archaeology of the Roman Republic, First Edition. Edited by Jane DeRose Evans. © 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Published 2013 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Abstract Examples of volcanic tuff in pioneer buildings have been identified in western Victoria, Australia, in the vicinity of the Tower Hill volcanic crater. A field study has highlighted the use of tuff (notably in small domestic buildings dating to the early years of the colony) and has prompted investigation of these fragmentary and often neglected remains, including assessment of their present condition. The study and petrography of the volcanic tuffs from several cottages and a church, coupled with observations of the building stones by James Bonwick made in 1857, provide further insights into the durability and weathering characteristics of the local tuff stones. These stones are comparable to those used extensively in ancient Rome, as described by Vitruvius, who provided guidance on their physical properties and use. Recent re-assessment of the deterioration of these tuff stones has shown just how relevant that advice remains today.

The highly durable pozzolanic mortars of wall concretes from the Theater of Marcellus and Great Hall of Trajan’s Markets preserve traces of micromorphological textures in altered Pozzolane Rosse volcanic ash. Reaction of hydrated lime with potassic scoriaeceous ash, and halloysite, phillipsite, and chabazite surface coatings, as well as Tufo Lionato tuff particles, produced distinct, alkaliand alumina-calcium-silica hydrate cement microstructures, including strätlingite. The assemblage of diverse pozzolanic components in the Trajanic mortar was remarkably effective in combining hydrated lime.

Roman hydraulic maritime concretes of the central Italian coast have Flegrean vitric tuff as coarse aggregate and mortar pozzolan. Pozzolanic reaction at high pH produced silica-rich CASH and calcium carbonate cements; tobermorite in the residual cores of lime and vitric tuff clasts; and ettringite and calcium-chloroaluminate in bead-like microstructures and voids. Phillipsite may reflect dissolution of residual alkali-rich volcanic glass at lower pH. The cement systems seem to have remained relatively stable during partial to full immersion in seawater for 2000 years. Further analytical investigations will determine the diverse chemical processes that produced specific cement microstructures.

Micrometer‐scale maps of authigenic microstructures in submarine basaltic tuff from a 1979 Surtsey volcano, Iceland, drill core acquired 15 years after eruptions terminated describe the initial alteration of oceanic basalt in a low‐temperature hydrothermal system. An integrative investigative approach uses synchrotron source X‐ray microdiffraction, microfluoresence, micro‐computed tomography, and scanning transmission electron microscopy coupled with Raman spectroscopy to create finely resolved spatial frameworks that record a continuum of alteration in glass and olivine. Microanalytical maps of vesicular and fractured lapilli in specimens from 157.1‐, 137.9‐, and 102.6‐m depths and borehole temperatures of 83, 93.9, and 141.3 °C measured in 1980, respectively, describe the production of nanocrystalline clay mineral, zeolites, and Al‐tobermorite in diverse microenvironments. Irregular alteration fronts at 157.1‐m depth resemble microchannels associated with biological activity in ol...

Flood Zone Flood Zones refer to the probability of river and sea flooding, ignoring the presence of defences. They are shown on the Environment Agency’s Flood Map for Planning (Rivers and Sea), available on the Environment Agency’s web site, as indicated below Zone 1: Low Probability Land having a less than 1 in 1,000 annual probability of river or sea flooding. (Shown as ‘clear’ on the Flood Map – all land outside Zones 2 and 3) Zone 2: Medium Probability Land having between a 1 in 100 and 1 in 1,000 annual probability of river flooding; or Land having between a 1 in 200 and 1 in 1,000 annual probability of sea flooding. (Land shown in light blue on the Flood Map) Zone 3a: High Probability Land having a 1 in 100 or greater annual probability of river flooding; or Land having a 1 in 200 or greater annual probability of sea flooding. (Land shown in dark blue on the Flood Map) Zone 3b: The Functional Floodplain This zone comprises land where water has to flow or be stored in times of ...

... Bianchi, E., and Meneghini, R., 2002, Il cantiere costruttivo del Foro di Traiano, Romische Mitteilungen 109, 395-417. Bloch, H., 1947, I bolli laterizi e la storia edilizia romana, Roma. De Fine Licht, K., 1968, The Rotunda in Rome: a study of Hadrian's Pantheon, Copenhagen. ...

Colonisation of life on Surtsey has been observed systematically since the formation of the island 50 years ago. Although the first colonisers were prokaryotes, such as bacteria and blue-green algae, most studies have been focusing on settlement of plants and animals but less on microbial succession. To explore microbial colonization in diverse soils and the influence of associate vegetation and birds on numbers of environmental bacteria, we collected 45 samples from different soils types on the surface of the island. Total viable bacterial counts were performed with plate count at 22°, 30° and 37°C for all soils samples and the amount of organic matter and nitrogen (N) was measured. Selected samples were also tested for coliforms, faecal coliforms aerobic and anaerobic bacteria. The deep subsurface biosphere was investigated by collecting liquid subsurface samples from a 182 meters borehole with a special sampler. Correlation was observed between N deficits and the number of microo...

Ancient Roman builders designed maritime concrete harbor structures to remain intact in the aggressive seawater environment for very long periods of time. Modern concrete engineers continue to deal with the challenges of exposure to chlorine ions, via either seawater or road salt. When chlorine ions penetrate into modern cement-based concrete they corrode the steel reinforcement, which ultimately can cause failure of the concrete structure. In contrast, the ancient Roman maritime structures have retained their structural integrity for 2000 years, despite having been partially or fully immersed in seawater since their construction. Th e concrete is composed of a volcanic ash-hydrated lime mortar that binds decimeter-sized chunks of volcanic tuff or limestone, shown by cores drilled by the ROMACONS research group from 11 diff erent Roman harbors (1). Th ere is no steel reinforcement. One key raw material is pumiceous volcanic ash quarried around Pozzuoli Bay in the Gulf of Naples, whi...

<p>The formation of the oceanic island Surtsey in the shallow ocean off the south coast of Iceland in 1963-1967 remains one of the best-studied examples of basaltic emergent volcanism to date. The island was built by both explosive, phreatomagmatic phases and by effusive activity forming lava shields covering parts of the explosively formed tuff cones.  Constraints on the subsurface structure of Surtsey achieved mainly based on the documented evolution during eruption and from drill cores in 1979 and in the ICDP-supported SUSTAIN drilling expedition in 2017(an inclined hole, directed 35° from the vertical). The 2017 drilling confirmed the existence of a diatreme, cut into the sedimentary pre-eruption seafloor (Jackson et al., 2019). </p><p>We use 3D-gravity modeling, constrained by the stratigraphy from the drillholes to study the structure of the island and the underlying diatreme.  Detailed gravity data were obtained on Surtsey in July 2014 with a gravity station spacing of ~100 m. Density measurements for the seafloor sedimentary and tephra samples of the surface were carried out using the ASTM1 protocol. By comparing the results with specific gravity measurements of cores from drillhole in 2017, a density contrast of about 200 kg m<sup>-3</sup> was found between the lapilli tuffs of the diatreme and the seafloor sediments.  Our approach is to divide the island into four main units of distinct density: (1) tuffs above sea level, (2) tuffs below sea level, (3) lavas above sea level, and (4) a lava delta below sea level, composed of breccias over which the lava advanced during the effusive eruption.  The boundaries between the bodies are defined from the eruption history and mapping done during the eruption, aided by the drill cores. </p><p>A complete Bouguer anomaly map is obtained by calculating a total terrain correction by applying the Nagy formula to dense DEMs (5 m spacing out to 1.2 km from station, 200 m spacing between 1.2 km and 50 km) of both island topography and ocean bathymetry.  Through the application of both forward and inverse modeling, using the GM-SYS 3D software, the results provide a 3-D model of the island itself, as well as constraints on diatreme shape and depth.</p>

Comparison of investigations of the 1979 and 2017 cored boreholes coupled with continued observations of the dynamic surface of Surtsey has modified our concepts of the subsurface structure of the volcano. A geometrical analysis of the 2017 vertical and inclined cores indicates that near-surface layering dips westerly, indicating that the boreholes are located inside the Surtur crater. In subaerial deposits, as well as in deep deposits below sea level and below the pre-Surtsey seafloor, there are zones of porous tuff that contain abundant pyroclasts with narrow rims of fine ash. These features, typical of near-surface deposits, could have been carried down the vent by downslumping during fluctuating explosive activity. They support the hypothesis that a broad diatreme underlies the Surtur vent. No major intrusions were encountered in the 2017 drilling except for coherent basalt in deep sub-seafloor deposits below the center of Surtur crater. The 2017 borehole temperature measurement...

Petrographic studies of thin sections from the 1979 and 2017 Surtsey drill cores provide new insights into microstructural features in basaltic lapilli tuff sampled from the principal structural and hydrothermal zones of the volcano. These describe narrow rims of fine ash on altered glass pyroclasts in thin sections of the 2017 cores, characteristics of granular and microtubular structures in the original thin sections of the 1979 core, and glass alteration in diverse environments. The narrow ash rims follow the outlines of glass pyroclasts in the subaerial tuff cone and in submarine and sub-seafloor deposits; they suggest complex eruptive and depositional processes. The tubular microstructures resemble endolithic microborings in older oceanic basalt; they suggest possible microbial activity. Tubule lengths indicate rapid growth rates, up to 30 µm in ~15 years. Comparisons of glass alteration in thin sections prepared immediately after drilling in 1979 and 2017 indicate differential...

Surtsey was drilled in 2017 in the context of the Surtsey Underwater volcanic System for Thermophiles, Alteration processes and INnovative Concretes (SUSTAIN) project. Vertical drill holes, SE-02a and SE02b (drilled to 191.64 m), and angled drill SE-03 (drilled to 354.05 m), intersected armoured lapilli tuff and lapilli tuff generated mainly by explosive eruptions at Surtur from November 1963 to January 1964. The top ~20 m of lapilli tuff was erupted from Surtungur. Intervals of coherent basalt in SE-02b (15.7 to 17 m and <15 cm at the end) and in SE-03 (<1 m at ~60 m and ~238 m, and 10 m near the base) are probably intrusions that may have fed the small lavas erupted at Surtur ~2.5 years later. Although collared only a few m from the 1979 drill hole, neither SE-02a nor SE-02b intersected the 13-m-thick interval of basalt found in the 1979 drill hole. The 2017 drill cores are entirely lithified and variably altered, reflecting the effects of hydrothermal alteration and cement ...