Composition of the core,II. Effect of high pressure on solubility of FeO in molten iron

An experimental and theoretical investigation of the effect of pressure on the solubility of FeO in molten iron has been carried out. Analyses of shock-wave compression data on iron oxides combined with measurements of the FeO bond length in “metallic” oxides suggest that the partial molar volume of FeO(V^*) dissolved in molten iron is substantially smaller than that of molten wüstite. Hence the effect of high pressure should be to increase the solubility of FeO in molten iron at a given temperature. This inference is confirmed by an experimental investigation of the effect of pressure on the position of the FeFeO eutectic. Thermodynamic calculations based on these experiments yield an estimate forV^* which is in reasonable agreement with the theoretical estimates. The experimental value ofV^* is used to calculate the effect of high pressure upon the FeFeO phase diagram. Solubility of FeO in molten iron increases sharply with pressure, the liquid immiscibility region contracts and disappears around 20 GPa and it is predicted that the FeFeO phase diagram should resemble a simple eutectic system above about 20 GPa. Analogous calculations predict that the solubility of FeO in molten iron in equilibrium with magnesiowüstite (Mg_0.8Fe_0.2)O at 2500°C increase from 14 mol.%(P = 0) to above 25 mol.% at 20 GPa. If the core formed by segregation of metallic iron originally dispersed throughout the earth, it seems inevitable that it would dissolved large amounts of FeO, thereby accounting for the observation that the density of the outer core is substantially smaller than that of pure iron under correspondingP, T conditions.     

Pressure dependence of electrical conductivity of (Mg,Fe)SiO<Subscript>3</Subscript> ilmenite

The electrical conductivity of (Mg_0.93Fe_0.07)SiO₃ ilmenite was measured at temperatures of 500–1,200 K and pressures of 25–35 GPa in a Kawai-type multi-anvil apparatus equipped with sintered diamond anvils. In order to verify the reliability of this study, the electrical conductivity of (Mg_0.93Fe_0.07)SiO₃ perovskite was also measured at temperatures of 500–1,400 K and pressures of 30–35 GPa. The pressure calibration was carried out using in situ X-ray diffraction of MgO as pressure marker. The oxidation conditions of the samples were controlled by the Fe disk. The activation energy at zero pressure and activation volume for ilmenite are 0.82(6) eV and −1.5(2) cm³/mol, respectively. Those for perovskite were 0.5(1) eV and −0.4(4) cm³/mol, respectively, which are in agreement with the experimental results reported previously. It is concluded that ilmenite conductivity has a large pressure dependence in the investigated P–T range.     

Neutron diffraction study of aluminous hydroxide δ-AlOOD

We have determined the position of deuterium atoms in δ-AlOOD by neutron powder diffraction at ambient pressure. As previously reported by theoretical and experimental studies, the deuterium atoms are located in the tunnel formed by the chains of AlO₆ octahedra. The data are best fit with the P2₁ nm structure, producing bond lengths of D–O1 of 1.552(2) Å, O2–D of 1.020(2) Å and O1–O2 of 2.571(2). This study confirms that the hydrogen bond is asymmetric at ambient conditions in agreement with recent single-crystal synchrotron study for δ-AlOOH.     

Mg–Fe interdiffusion rates in wadsleyite and the diffusivity jump at the 410-km discontinuity

Mg–Fe interdiffusion rates have been measured in wadsleyite aggregates at 16.0–17.0 GPa and 1230–1530 °C by the diffusion couple method. Oxygen fugacity was controlled using the NNO buffer, and water contents of wadsleyite were measured by infrared spectroscopy. Measured asymmetric diffusion profiles, analyzed using the Boltzmann–Matano equation, indicate that the diffusion rate increases with increasing iron concentration and decreasing grain size. In the case of wadsleyite containing 50–90 weight ppm H₂O, the Mg–Fe interdiffusion coefficients at compositions of Mg/(Mg + Fe)=0.95 in the coarse-grained region (about 60 m) and 0.90 in the fine-grained region (about 6 m) were determined to be a D_Xmg = 0.95 (m² s^–1)=1.24 × 10^–9 exp[–172 (kJ mol^–1)/RT] and D_Xmg = 0.90 (m² s^–1)=1.77 × 10^–9 exp[–143 (kJ mol^–1)/RT], respectively. Grain-boundary diffusion rates were estimated to be about 4 orders of magnitude faster than the volume diffusion rate. Grain-boundary diffusion dominates when the grain size is less than a few tens of microns. Results for the nominally dry diffusion couple in the present study are roughly consistent with previous studies, taking into account differences in pressure and grain size, although water contents of samples were not clear in previous studies. We observed that the diffusivity is enhanced by about 1 order of magnitude in wadsleyite containing 300–2100 wt. ppm H₂O at 1230 °C, which is almost identical to the enhancement associated with a 300 °C increase in temperature. It is still not conclusive that a jump in diffusivity exists between olivine and wadsleyite because water contents of olivine in previous diffusion studies and effects of water on the olivine diffusivity are uncertain.     

Sedimentation rate and heavy metal pollution in sediments in Harima Nada (Harima Sound), Seto Inland Sea

Sedimentation rates were determined with the²¹⁰Pb technique in six sediment cores from Harima Nada (Harima Sound), Seto Inland Sea. The rate of deposition varies from 0.11 g cm^–2y^–1 in the northern part to 0.33 g cm^–2 y^–1 in the southern part of the basin. A marked increase in copper and zinc content was observed above a depth in the core corresponding to about 1900 A.D. as a result of increasing human activities. Anthropogenic input of copper and zinc decreased slightly after 1970. Natural background levels of copper and zinc in the sediment in this sound are 11–16 ppm and 100–120 ppm, respectively. The total amounts of anthropogenic copper and zinc in the sediments were estimated to be 110–180g cm^–2 and 610–1,280g cm^–2, respectively. These values constitute 40–50% of the total sedimentary input of copper and zinc in the sediments since about 1900 A.D.     

越南红河三角洲近五千年来的几个降温事件

根据对越南红河三角洲的2个钻孔的孢粉分析结果，结合沉积特征和高精度的AMS^14C测年数据，恢复了近五千年来百年一千年尺度的气候变化，发现了3个分别开始于4530cal．aBP，2100cal．aBP和620cal．aBP的明显降温事件，其中4530cal．aBP和620cal．aBP降温事件可与全球全新世气候变冷事件中的“新冰期(Neoglacial)”和“小冰期(Little Ice Age)”相对应，可能与由北大西洋地区几个短期变冷事件的全球气候响应机制有关。3340cal．aBP以来，人类干扰性植物成分的增加，表明人类活动对自然植被的影响改造作用增强，因此，本研究中气候的降温事件不排除人类影响的因素，仍需要进一步深入研究。     

Sedimentation rates in Funka Bay,HokkaidÔ

Undisturbed sediment cores were collected by a modified gravity corer from Funka Bay. The sedimentation rate is determined by both²¹⁰Pb and pumice chronological methods. The sedimentation rates by²¹⁰Pb method are concordant with those by pumice methods. The derived rate varies from 0.06 to 0.22 g cm^–2 y^–1, and an average is 0.09 g cm^–2 y^–1.     

Thermoelastic properties of chromium oxide Cr<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript> (eskolaite) at high pressures and temperatures

A new synchrotron X-ray diffraction study of chromium oxide Cr₂O₃ (eskolaite) with the corundum-type structure has been carried out in a Kawai-type multi-anvil apparatus to pressure of 15 GPa and temperatures of 1873 K. Fitting the Birch–Murnaghan equation of state (EoS) with the present data up to 15 GPa yielded: bulk modulus (K _0,T0), 206 ± 4 GPa; its pressure derivative K′_0,T , 4.4 ± 0.8; (?K _0,T /?T) = ?0.037 ± 0.006 GPa K^?1; a = 2.98 ± 0.14 × 10^?5 K^?1 and b = 0.47 ± 0.28 × 10^?8 K^?2, where α _0,T  = a + bT is the volumetric thermal expansion coefficient. The thermal expansion of Cr₂O₃ was additionally measured at the high-temperature powder diffraction experiment at ambient pressure and α _0,T0 was determined to be 2.95 × 10^?5 K^?1. The results indicate that coefficient of the thermal expansion calculated from the EoS appeared to be high-precision because it is consistent with the data obtained at 1 atm. However, our results contradict α ₀ value suggested by Rigby et al. (Brit Ceram Trans J 45:137–148, 1946) widely used in many physical and geological databases. Fitting the Mie–Grüneisen–Debye EoS with the present ambient and high-pressure data yielded the following parameters: K _0,T0 = 205 ± 3 GPa, K′_0,T  = 4.0, Grüneisen parameter (γ ₀) = 1.42 ± 0.80, q = 1.82 ± 0.56. The thermoelastic parameters indicate that Cr₂O₃ undergoes near isotropic compression at room and high temperatures up to 15 GPa. Cr₂O₃ is shown to be stable in this pressure range and adopts the corundum-type structure. Using obtained thermoelastic parameters, we calculated the reaction boundary of knorringite formation from enstatite and eskolaite. The Clapeyron slope (with \({\text{d}}P/{\text{d}}T = - 0.014\) GPa/K) was found to be consistent with experimental data.     

Phytoremediation of shallow organically enriched marine sediments using benthic microalgae

We examined whether replantation of benthic microalgae (BMA) can remediate shallow organically enriched sediment. Nitzschia sp., the dominant species in the tested area (Hiroshima Bay, Japan), was isolated and mass cultured, then replanted in the same area. Changes in the condition of the sediment were monitored for five months. During the study period, we observed an increase in redox potential (ORP) and a decrease in acid-volatile sulfide (AVS) in the experimental area, indicating that the sediment condition changed from reduced to oxic. Organic matter in the sediment, represented by chemical oxygen demand (COD), ignition loss (IL) and organic nitrogen (ON) decreased significantly, while inorganic nutrients (ammonia and phosphate) increased in the interstitial water. These changes imply that oxygen produced by the replanted BMA may have enhanced aerobic bacterial activity, accelerating the decomposition of organic matter. Thus, replantation of BMA shows potential as a novel and promising "phytoremediation" method for organically enriched sediment.