Hydro-geochemical processes in an area with saline groundwater in lower Shire River valley, Malawi: An integrated application of hierarchical cluster and principal component analyses

Our ability to adapt to changes in groundwater quality, arising from a changing climate and/or local pressures, is dependent on comprehension of the governing controls of spatial variation in groundwater chemistry. This paper presents results of an assessment of dominant hydro-geochemical processes controlling groundwater chemical composition, using an integrated application of hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA) of a major ion dataset of groundwater from lower Shire River valley, Malawi. The area is in the southernmost part of the western section of the East African Rift System (EARS) and has localised occurrence of saline groundwater. HCA classified samples into three main clusters (C1-C3) according to their dominant chemical composition: C1 (dominant composition: Na-Cl; median TDS: 3436 mg L⁻¹), C2 (dominant composition: Na-HCO₃; median TDS: 966 mg L⁻¹) and C3 (dominant composition: alkali earths-HCO₃; median TDS: 528 mg L⁻¹). These clusters were in turn described by the principal components PC1, PC3 and PC2, respectively, resulting from the PCA. The results of the PCA and geochemical interpretation suggest that the spatial variation of groundwater quality in the area is influenced by the following processes: C3 samples result mainly from H₂CO₃ weathering of aluminosilicate minerals by percolating water supersaturated with CO₂. In addition to aluminosilicate weathering, C2 samples are influenced by the processes of cation exchange of Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ in the water for Na⁺ on clay minerals, and carbonate precipitation. The increase in ionic strength of C2 samples is attributed to mixing with high TDS groundwater in proximity with C2 samples. The saline/brackish C1 groundwater results from the processes of evaporation (for samples with high water table close to the Shire marshes) and dissolution of Cl⁻ and SO₄-evaporative salts followed by mineralised seep from sedimentary Karoo and Cretaceous Lupata sandstones.     

Using 87Sr/86Sr, δ18O and δ2H isotopes along with major chemical composition to assess groundwater salinization in lower Shire valley,Malawi

Groundwater resources in some parts of the lower section of Shire River valley, Malawi, are not useable for rural domestic water supply due to high salinity. In this study, a combined assessment of isotopic (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr, δ¹⁸O and δ²H) and major ion composition was conducted in order to identify the hydro-geochemical evolution of the groundwater and thereby the causes of salinity. Three major end-members (representing fresh- and saline groundwater, and evaporated recharge) were identified based on major ion and isotopic composition. The saline groundwater is inferred to result from dissolution of evaporitic salts (halite) and the fresh groundwater shows influence of silicate weathering. Conservative mixing models show that brackish groundwater samples result from a three component mixture comprising the identified end-members. Hence their salinity is interpreted to result from mixing of fresh groundwater with evaporated recharge and saline groundwater. On the other hand, the groundwater with low TDS, found at some distance from areas of high salinity, is influenced by mixing of evaporated recharge and fresh groundwater only. Close to the Shire marshes, where there is shallow groundwater, composition of stable isotopes of water indicates that evaporation may also be an important factor.     

Biosorption of Dyes by Natural and Activated Vine Stem. Interaction between Biosorbent and Dye

In the present study, the vine stem and modified vine stem were used as low cost adsorbents for the removal of acidic and basic dyes from aqueous solutions. A comparative study was also carried out with activated carbon obtained from vine stem and then the adsorption capacities of all adsorbents were evaluated by batch adsorption process. The effects of various adsorption parameters (initial pH, particle size, and contact time) were investigated. The modification of the vine stem with nitric acid increased its adsorption capacity for the basic dye. Both, vine stem and modified vine stem exhibited higher adsorption capacities than activated carbon. The adsorption capacities were found to be 322.58, 250, and 200 mg g^?1 for modified, natural vine stem, and activated carbon, respectively. In the case of acidic dye, the pH strongly affected the adsorption capacity and the maximum dye uptake was observed at pH 2 for all adsorbents. The acidic dye adsorption was lower compared to basic dye on both biosorbents and activated carbon tested. The maximum acidic dye adsorption values (58.82 and 59.88 mg g^?1) were obtained with the vine stem and activated carbon, respectively. In the case of lignocellulosic adsorbents, both surface charge and surface groups had main effect on the adsorption of basic dye, while adsorption mechanism in activated carbon was mainly through the physical adsorption. The results of comparative adsorption capacity of adsorbents indicated that vine stem or modified vine stem can be used as a low cost alternative to activated carbon in aqueous solution for basic dye removal.     

First 10 min intervals of Pi2 onset at geosynchronous altitudes during the expansion of energetic ion regions in the nighttime sector

We examined the temporal variations of the geomagnetic field and energetic ions at geosynchronous altitudes associated with substorms during the nighttime using a superposed epoch analysis timed by Pi2 onset. We focused on the first 10 min intervals of Pi2 onset and on subsequent intervals to study the substorm expansion. We conclude that the first 10 min interval of Pi2 onset is a transitional state of the substorm dominated by MHD processes associated with earthward flow and its bifurcation. Intervals of field line variations following the first 10 min were well organized by dipolarization (substorm current wedge) due to the reduced cross-tail current. We also show that energetic ion regions localized in the local time sector from 2000 to 0000 LT in the first 10 min intervals of Pi2 onset expanded to the post-midnight sector, reaching 0400 LT within 20 min after Pi2 onset. We conclude that the expansion of the energetic plasma regions can be attributed to the inflation of the inner magnetosphere during dipolarization.     

Thin layered field aligned current in the solar wind

The distribution of thin layered field aligned currents (current layers) in the leading edge of the fast stream at 1 a.u. is studied by comparing solar wind plasma parameters (bulk velocity, density proton temperature and magnetic field intensity) and occurrence frequency of the current layer. Each leading edge studied is either a stream interface or an interplanetary shock. It is found that the occurrence frequency is related best to the proton temperature variations; the occurrence frequency increases with the rise of proton temperature. Possible mechanisms which cause high occurrence frequency of current layers in the leading edge are discussed.     

The effect of hydrodynamic conditions on true flotation and entrainment in flotation of a complex sulphide ore

The separation efficiency and selectivity of flotation are directly proportional to recoveries of the mineral species in the feed due to true flotation and entrainment. In this study, effects of the hydrodynamic conditions on true flotation and entrainment were investigated by using a fractional factorial experimental design. A method previously described in the literature was applied to determine the contributions of true flotation and entrainment in flotation of a complex sulphide ore. In order to apply the method, the kinetic flotation tests were conducted under various hydrodynamic conditions defined by some physical variables. Some of these tests were conducted in the presence and absence of a collector to evaluate the self-induced floatability. The selectivity index of the mineral species for entrainment was seen to be suitable evaluation of the non-selectivity and efficiency of the entrainment. Furthermore, the results of the size-by-size analysis of the froth products indicated that the presence of the self-induced hydrophobic particles in the feed is as important as the presence of very fine particles for accurate estimation of true flotation and entrainment in flotation of a complex sulphide ore. In addition, the estimated results for entrainment in flotation of the complex sulphide ore can be misleading. Therefore, a new approach would be necessary to determine the contributions of true flotation and entrainment in flotation of a complex sulphide ore.     

Modelling local GPS/levelling geoid undulations using artificial neural networks

The use of GPS for establishing height control in an area where levelling data are available can involve the so-called GPS/levelling technique. Modelling of the GPS/levelling geoid undulations has usually been carried out using polynomial surface fitting, least-squares collocation (LSC) and finite-element methods. Artificial neural networks (ANNs) have recently been used for many investigations, and proven to be effective in solving complex problems represented by noisy and missing data. In this study, a feed-forward ANN structure, learning the characteristics of the training data through the back-propagation algorithm, is employed to model the local GPS/levelling geoid surface. The GPS/levelling geoid undulations for Istanbul, Turkey, were estimated from GPS and precise levelling measurements obtained during a field study in the period 1998–99. The results are compared to those produced by two well-known conventional methods, namely polynomial fitting and LSC, in terms of root mean square error (RMSE) that ranged from 3.97 to 5.73 cm. The results show that ANNs can produce results that are comparable to polynomial fitting and LSC. The main advantage of the ANN-based surfaces seems to be the low deviations from the GPS/levelling data surface, which is particularly important for distorted levelling networks.     

Distributions of tangential discontinuity in the corotating solar wind structure

Distributions of the tangential discontinuity (TD) in the solar wind sector structure are investigated on the basis of the magnetic field data and the ion plasma parameters from the Explorer 33 satellite from 23 January to 23 March 1968. The TD is separated from the observed field fluctuations by calculating the direction of the plasma flow and also the direction of the minimum field fluctuation with respect to the ambient magnetic field direction.It is found that the TD is formed by the thin layered field-aligned currents (the current sheets), and that the TD is predominantly built up in the leading edge of the solar wind where the compression of the plasma and the magnetic field takes place.It is suggested that the current sheets might be locally generated in the leading edge in the turbulent conditions arising from collisions between the fast- and the slow-stream of the solar sector structure.