The cycling of Ni,Zn, Cu in the system “mine tailings–ground water–plants”: A case study

The comparative behaviour of Ni, Cu and Zn in the system “mine tailings–ground water–plants” has been investigated at the Ni–Cu mine site operated by INCO Ltd. Thompson Operations, Thompson, Manitoba. Oxidation of sulphide minerals causes the release of metals from exposed tailings containing Ni ∼2000 ppm, Cu ∼150 ppm and Zn ∼100 ppm to the ground water, which contains 350 mg/L Ni, 0.007 mg/L Cu, and 1.6 mg/L Zn. The metal concentration in the ground water is affected by the relative proportions of sulfide minerals, the rate of oxidation of sulphide minerals (Ni-bearing pyrrhotite > sphalerite > chalcopyrite), and the affinity of the metals for secondary Fe-phases (Ni > Zn > Cu).     

Seasonal, interannual and long-term variability of precipitation and snow depth in the region of the Barents and Kara seas

Observation data of temperature, precipitation and snow depth have been compiled and generalized climatologically for a network of 38 stations in and around the Barents and Kara seas, for the period 1951–1992. The monthly precipitation totals were corrected for measuring errors, and the correction method is described in detail. The corrected precipitation values show that the annual precipitation in the region ranges from more than 500 mm along the coast of the Kola Peninsula to less than 200 mm in parts of the north-eastern Kara Sea. The solid fraction of the annual precipitation ranges from 70% in northern parts to 35% in southern parts. For the period 1951–1992 the analysis indicates decreasing trends in annual values of temperature, precipitation and snow depths in the north-eastern parts of the region.     

Element partitioning between immiscible borosilicate liquids: A high-temperature centrifuge study

The main objectives of this study were to investigate conditions for stable and metastable liquid immiscibility in dry borosilicate synthetic systems and to evaluate effects of temperature and bulk melt composition on two-liquid element partitioning and boron speciation. To distinguish between the stable immiscibility and quench heterogeneity, we used high-temperature centrifuge phase separation. For the case of stable liquid immiscibility, silica-rich (LS) and borate-rich (LB) conjugate liquids formed two distinct layers separated by a sharp meniscus. The liquids were quenched into glasses, which were analysed by electron microprobe. Some of the glasses were also studied by Raman spectroscopy. We used several synthetic mixtures along the danburite-anorthite (CaB₂Si₂O₈-CaAl₂Si₂O₈) and danburite-reedmergnerite (CaB₂Si₂O₈-NaBSi₃O₈) joins. In addition, we studied four complex, six-component, Mg-bearing compositions with variable Na₂O and Al₂O₃ contents. The experiments show that the width of the LS-LB miscibility gap decreases more rapidly with the B-Al substitution (in the danburite-anorthite join) than with the Ca-Na substitution, implying that interactions between network-forming elements have a greater effect on borate-silicate unmixing than the nature of network-modifying cations. Ca and Mg partition strongly to the depolymerised borate-rich liquid with LB-LS partition coefficients of ∼40 and higher. On the other hand, two-liquid partition coefficients of Na and Al in most cases are close to 1 and show complex variations with temperature and bulk melt composition. Raman spectra of LB glasses quenched at different temperatures suggest that the proportion of trigonal boron in bulk boron content decreases with decreasing temperature. The change in boron speciation appears to affect Al and Na two-liquid partitioning in such a way that at low temperatures, the latter element becomes more compatible with LS.     

朝鲜平南盆地埃迪卡拉系-下寒武统地层碳同位素特征

中朝古陆(华北古陆)平南盆地位于朝鲜半岛中部,广泛发育新元古界-古生界地层。根据化石记录,一般认为燕滩群(自下而上包括飞狼洞组和棱里组)主体属于埃迪卡拉系,黄州(超)群坪山组和中和组主体属于下寒武统。然而,该套地层记录的新元古界-古生界界线处在什么位置,燕滩群是否记录冰期事件(如,Gaskiers冰期),尚有争议。本文对这些地层开展了碳、氧同位素分析。结果表明,飞浪洞组δ13C值从底部+2‰开始,在+2‰和+6‰之间变化,最上部为+2‰;棱里组从下到上从0降至-7‰;坪山组在-3.1‰~0‰之间变化;中和组基本上在-1.2‰~+1.9‰范围变化。这些数据表明,原先认为有冰碛岩的飞浪洞组可能没有记录Gaskiers冰期;棱里组δ13C值与Gaskiers或Marinoan等冰期不可对比,而可能对应于埃迪卡拉系最末期的负漂移。通过将平南盆地燕滩群-黄州群地层碳同位素值变化趋势与国际地层对比,明确地层时代属于埃迪卡拉系末期-下寒武统;由于不存在明确的的不整合,燕滩群-黄州群地层可以作为这一时期连续剖面。我们认为黄州群坪山组底部含磷、含金属硫化物黑色板岩可以作为界线标志层。     

Multiphase flow modeling with density functional method

This paper is a review of applications of density functional theory (DFT) in compositional hydrodynamics. The basic idea is representation of the entropy or the Helmholtz energy of the mixture as the functional depending on the molar densities of chemical components (density functional). The hydrodynamics is governed by local conservation laws of chemical components, momentum, and energy, while constitutive relations and boundary conditions are introduced in accordance with the explicit form of the density functional. The general ideas and the history of the DFT in compositional hydrodynamics are discussed. Then the DFT for multiphase multicomponent mixtures is presented including the exposition of the first principles, governing equations and constitutive relations, and explicit expressions of density functional depending on physical situation. The DFT-based numerical simulator is described, and several multiphase simulation results are presented to illustrate the scope and effectiveness of DFT: sessile drop with and without surfactant, droplet breakup in shear flow, and three-phase hydrodynamics with mobile solid phase. Also, two practical scenarios with multiphase simulations in micro-CT porous rock models are presented: two-phase immiscible water-oil flow and three-phase water-gas-condensate flow with phase transitions. All numerical results are obtained by essentially the same code; both the number of chemical components and the Helmholtz energy have been set up in accordance with physical situation.     

Climate extremes in South Western Siberia: past and future

In this study, the temporal and spatial trends of ten climate extreme indices were computed based on observed daily precipitation and on daily maximum and minimum temperatures at 26 weather stations in South Western Siberia during the period 1969–2011 and, based on projected daily maximum and minimum temperatures, during 2021–2050. The Mann–Kendall test was employed to analyze the temporal trend and a combination of multiple linear regressions and semivariogram functions were used to evaluate the regional spatial trends and the local spatial variability of climate extremes, respectively. The results show that the temperature-based climate extremes increase at a 0.05 significance level while none of the precipitation-based climate extremes did. Spatially, dominant gradients are observed along latitude: The northern taiga vegetation zone experiences a colder and wetter climate while the southern forest steppe zone is drier and hotter. Over time, a tendency towards homogenization of the regional climate is observed through a decrease of the spatial variability for most climate extreme indices. In the future, the most intense changes are anticipated for the bio-climate indicators “growing season length” and “growing degree days” in the north, while the warming indicators, “warm day” and “warm night” are expected to be high to the south.     

Freshening of near-bottom waters in Lake Baikal triggered by the Mw6.2 Kultuk earthquake of August 2008

In September 2008, freshening of near-bottom water and an increase in concentration of suspended particles were observed in the western part of southern Lake Baikal. The reduction in the content of total dissolved solids was about 0.4–0.7?mg/kg (0.7?%), and average suspended particle concentration increased strongly to 6–9?mg/l, the background value being 0.2?mg/l. The spatial distribution of these waters was virtually identical to the focal area of the M_w6.2 Kultuk earthquake that occurred on 27 August 2008. It is suggested that there was a causal relationship between these two phenomena. Freshening of a significant amount (about 20?km³) of near-bottom waters was plausibly caused by an input of poorly mineralized pore waters from bottom sediments as a result of dissociation of methane gas hydrates suspected to occur in the area. The energy radiated by the earthquake source was four orders of magnitude smaller than that needed to explain the observed freshening of near-bottom waters. This points to other mechanisms leading to seismic-induced sediment failure and possible subsequent hydrate dissociation in the case of the Kultuk earthquake.