Size discontinuity between interstellar and chondritic aromatic structures: A high-resolution transmission electron microscopy study

Polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are often considered as abundant and widespread organic structures in the universe and such structures are known to build the macromolecular network of the organic matter in carbonaceous chondrites. Assuming that interstellar PAHs are properly identified from infrared bands, these meteoritic aromatic moieties can be compared with their interstellar counterpart. The main structural parameters of the aromatic units of the insoluble organic matter of the Orgueil and Murchison chondrites are directly determined through high resolution transmission electron microscopy along with image analysis. These aromatic moieties appear weakly organized and of a smaller size than those present in the interstellar medium (containing ∼30 and ∼150 C atoms). Provided chondritic and interstellar polyaromatic hydrocarbons are derived from a similar organosynthesis, the smaller units were selectively preserved in meteorites, likely thanks to their fast accumulation on grains, which would protect them from solar UV photodissociation at the surface of the protosolar disk.     

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the dwarf galaxy IC 10

Archival infrared Spitzer Space Telescope observations are used to study the dust component of the ISM in the irregular galaxy IC 10. The dust distribution in the galaxy is compared to the distributions of the Hα and [S II] emission, neutral gas and CO clouds, and ionizing radiation sources. The distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the galaxy is shown to be highly non-uniform, with the fraction of these particles in total dust mass reaching 4%. On the whole, PAHs avoid bright H II regions and correlate with the atomic and molecular gas. This pattern suggests that they form in the dense interstellar gas. It is suggested that the observed metallicity dependence of the PAH abundance shows up not only globally (at the level of the entire galaxy), but also locally (at least, at the level of individual H II regions). No conclusive evidence for shock destruction of PAHs in the IC 10 galaxy has been found.     

The influence of variations of elemental composition on the thermal properties of interstellar gas

The mixing of metals and redistribution of the relative abundances of chemical elements in the interstellar medium often takes place on a timescale that exceeds the characteristic timescales for many other processes, such as ionization and the establishment of thermal equilibrium. Under these conditions, different regions of interstellar gas can have different thermal, chemical, and spectral properties. The paper considers the ionization kinetics and thermal regime of interstellar gas with variations in the relative elemental abundances. The thermal properties and observational (spectral) characteristics are most sensitive to variations of the relative abundance of carbon, oxygen, neon, and iron. The dynamic consequences of such variations are considered.     

Place and time of formation of oil and gas in the orogenic region of southeastern Central Asia

We recognize three principal geotectonic stages in the development of this area: pre-Mesozoic geosynclinal, Mesozoic-Paleogene platformal, and Neogene-Quaternary epiplatformal. Whereas the depths of generation of liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons in the platformal stage did not exceed 5000 m, these depths differed significantly during the phase of postplatformal activation and were more than 6000 - 8000 m. As a result of short-lived orogenic movements, zones of generation of liquid hydrocarbons could be distributed to depths 6500 m and more. This indicates that there is more evidence In favor of discovering deep-seated oil in sediments of young fold regions than on the platforms.

The possibility of the existence of an upper zone of gas formation is supported and the history of geologic development and conditions of petroleum formation in the fold regions indicates the need for a differentiated assessment of the prospects of oil and gas. —Author.     

Gradual and stepwise pyrolyses of insoluble organic matter from the Murchison meteorite revealing chemical structure and isotopic distribution

To study the detailed structural and isotopic heterogeneity of the insoluble organic matter (IOM) of the Murchison meteorite, we performed two types of pyrolytic experiments: gradual pyrolysis and stepwise pyrolysis. The pyrolysates from the IOM contained 5 specific organic groups: aliphatic hydrocarbons, aromatic hydrocarbons, sulfur-bearing compounds, nitrogen-bearing compounds, and oxygen-bearing compounds. The release temperatures and the compositions of these pyrolysates demonstrated that the IOM is composed of a thermally unstable part and a thermally stable part. The thermally unstable part mainly served as the linkage and substituent portion that bound the thermally stable part, which was dispersed throughout the IOM. The linkage and substituent portion consisted of aliphatic hydrocarbons from C₄ to C₈, aromatic hydrocarbons with up to 6 rings, sulfo and thiol groups (the main reservoirs of sulfur in the IOM), and carboxyl and hydroxyl groups (the main reservoirs of oxygen). However, the thermally stable part was composed of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) containing nitrogen heterocycles in the IOM. Isotopic data showed that the aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons in the linkage and substituent portion were rich in D and ¹³C, while the thermally stable part was deficient in D and ¹³C. The structural and isotopic features suggested that the IOM was formed by mixing sulfur- and oxygen-bearing compounds rich in D and ¹³C (e.g., polar compounds in the interstellar medium (ISM)) and nitrogen-bearing PAHs deficient in D and ¹³C (e.g., polymerized compounds in the ISM).     

Chemodynamical evolution of gas near an expanding HII region

A self-consistent model for the chemical-dynamical evolution of a region of ionized hydrogen around a massive young star and of the surrounding molecular gas is presented. The model includes all main chemical and physical processes, namely the photoionization of atomic hydrogen, photodissociation of molecular hydrogen and other molecules, and the evaporation of molecules from the mantles of dust particles. Heating and cooling processes are taken into account in the temperature calculations, including cooling in molecular and atomic lines. The hydrodynamical equations were solved using the Zeus2D hydrodynamical software package. This model is used to analyze the expansion of a region of ionized hydrogen around massive stars (effective temperature of 30 000 and 40 000 K) in a medium with various initial density distributions. The competition between evaporation from dust mantles and the photodissociation of molecules results in the formation of a transition layer between the hot HII region and cool quiescent medium, characterized by high abundances of molecules in the gas phase. The thickness of the transition layer is different for different molecules. Since there is a velocity gradient along the transition layer, and the maxima in the distributions of different molecules are at different distances from the star, observations of molecular emission lines should reveal distinction in shifts of lines of different molecules relative to the velocity of the quiescent gas. Such shifts have indeed been detected during molecular observations of the region of ionized hydrogen Sh2-235. For an initial gas density of 10³ cm^?3, the increase in the abundances of H₂O and H₂CO in the transition layer after desorption from dust occurs gradually rather than in a jump-like fashion; therefore, the concept of a “evaporation front” can be used only formally. In addition, the distances between the evaporation fronts for different molecules are significant. At higher initial gas densities (10⁴ cm^?3), sharp evaporation fronts are formed for the different molecules, which are close to each other and to the shock front. In this case, it is possible to speak of a single evaporation front for CO, H₂O, and H₂CO.     

河床含水系统对单环芳烃净化特征室内模拟

为了模拟长期排污河流中单环芳烃在地表水-地下水系统迁移转化规律以及不同含水介质和水动力条件对单环芳烃的净化特征, 室内土柱实验采用3种有代表性的天然砂土为研究对象, 以生活污水模拟纳污河流, 实验历时5个月.单环芳烃的自然净化作用主要发生在河床底下0.4m内, 垂直向下单环芳烃各组分浓度呈由高到低的分布特征; 粗砂对苯、甲苯和单环芳烃总量(TBETX) 总净化率分别为32.06%、21.39%和27.13%;中砂1分别为76.26%、81.40%、87.99%;中砂2分别为68.94%、74.41%、81.69%, 这表明, 河流污染初期河床底含水介质完全饱水, 含水介质颗粒尺寸越大, 对单环芳烃的净化率就越低, 单环芳烃容易迁移进入地下水中; 随着时间的延长, 河床底部淤泥层不断增加, 砂层中的水流处于非饱和状态, 淤泥层和含水介质系统对单环芳烃的净化能力较饱水流时大, 单环芳烃不容易迁移进入地下水.      

Development of a thermal desorption method for the analysis of particle associated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in ambient air

An investigation for the analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in airborne particulates using thermal desorption and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry is described. Samples are obtained from ambient air using fibreglass filters and the volatile material from the filter is thermally desorbed to gas chromatograph. A 30 meter capillary column is used to separate the hydrocarbons and eight polyaromatic hydrocarbons are used to test the method and recovery is >95%. The eight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons anthracene, phenanthrene, fluoranthrene, pyrene, benzo (a) anthracene, chrysene, benzo (a) pyrene and benzo (e) pyrene were the most abundant PAHs found in the samples of ambient air with current method at Uxbridge-London. Application of the measurement of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in ambient air samples shows that the hydrocarbons trapped in the particle phase to a lesser degree at higher ambient temperature. In conclusion a method has been developed to transfer the PAHs in particle phase from a filter to GC-MS by thermal desorption. A standard mixture of PAHs, when absorbed onto the filter, did lead to strong analyte absorbent interactions by the high percent recovery of the sample.     

A correlation between the distributions of pulsars and emission measures in the galaxy

A correlation has been detected between the volume density of pulsars and the density of interstellar ionized gas on scales of more than 500 pc in Galactic longitude and 200 pc in Galactic latitude. On smaller scales, the correlation is present only for pulsars with ages less than 60000 years, which are located predominantly near supernova remnants and H II regions. This all indicates that pulsars are born in regions with high concentrations of interstellar gas. The minimum emission measures observed in the directions toward pulsars are inversely proportional to the pulsar ages. It is concluded that the ionized gas in the vicinities of a number of pulsars was formed during supernova explosions, and corresponds to Strömgren zones. The ionization of the gas in these zones requires a radiation energy on the order of 10⁵⁰–10⁵¹ erg.     

Studies of Star-forming Complexes in the Galaxies NGC 628, NGC 2976, and NGC 3351

The parameters of the radiation of interstellar matter in star-forming complexes in the high-metallicity galaxies NGC 628, NGC 2976, and NGC 3351, which have different morphological types, are analyzed. The relationship between the emission in Hα and in lines of CO and HI is considered, as well as the relationship between Hα and the emission of dust in the infrared range (IR). The fluxes and surface brightnesses in the UV and IR correlate well with the Hα emission. The HI emission also correlates well with Hα, while the correlation between the CO and Hα emission is much weaker. The ratio of the fluxes at 8 and 24 µm decreases with increasing Hα flux. This may be due to changes in the properties of the dust ensemble (a decrease in the mass fraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) or to changing excitation conditions. Analysis of the kinematics of the CO lines shows that the CO flux grows with increasing velocity scatter ΔV when ΔV ? 70 km/s. Preliminary evidence for the existence of star-forming complexes with higher values of ΔV is provided, when the increase in the velocity scatter is accompanied by a decrease in the CO luminosity of the complex.

     

Distribution of the relative plasma turbulence level in the galaxy

The statistical dependence of τ/(DM)² (the ratio of the broadening of a pulsar pulse due to scattering in the interstellar medium to the square of the pulsar’s dispersion measure) on the pulsar’s dispersionmeasure, Galactic coordinates, age, and the angular distance to the nearest supernova remnant are studied. This parameter describes the relative level of electron density fluctuations in the turbulent interstellar plasma. It is shown that the interstellar plasma turbulence level is three orders of magnitude higher in the spiral arms of the Galaxy than outside the arms. The plasma turbulence level is approximately an order of magnitude higher in the Galactic arms, in regions within ?0.3° of supernova remnants, than outside these regions. We conclude that the source of energy for the turbulence in the Galactic arms is supernova explosions in the denser medium there.     

Geo-microbial prospecting studies of surface sediments from petroliferous region of the Mehsana Block,North Cambay Basin

Surface adsorbed gas surveys and geo-microbiological surveys are well known techniques of petroleum exploration and aim towards risk reduction in exploration by way of identifying the areas warm with hydrocarbons and to establish inter-se exploration priorities amongst the identified warm areas. The thermogenic surface adsorbed gaseous hydrocarbons distribution patterns in petroliferous areas are considered to be a credible evidence for the upward migration of hydrocarbons. The present investigation aims to explore correlation between the adsorbed gas distribution pattern and microbial oxidizers in identifying the upward migration of hydrocarbons especially in the tropical black soil terrain of known petroliferous Mehsana Block of North Cambay Basin, India. A set of 135 sub-soil samples collected, were analyzed for indicator hydrocarbon oxidizing bacteria, adsorbed light gaseous hydrocarbons and carbon isotope ratios (¹³C_methane and δ¹³C_ethane). The microbial prospecting studies showed the presence of high bacterial population for methane (5.4 × 10⁶ cfu/gm), ethane (5.5 × 10⁶ cfu/gm), propane (4.6 × 10⁶ cfu/gm) and butane oxidizing bacteria (4.6 × 10⁶ cfu/gm) in soil samples. The light gaseous hydrocarbon analysis showed that the concentration ranges of C₁, C₂, C₃, iC₄ and nC₄ are 402 ppb, 135 ppb, 70 ppb, 9 ppb and 18 ppb, respectively, and the value of carbon isotope ranges of methane ?29.5 to ?43.0‰ (V-PDB) and ethane ?19.1 to ?20.9‰ (V-PDB). The existence of un-altered petroliferous microseep (δ¹³C, ?43‰) of catagenetic origin is observed in the study area. Geo-microbial prospecting method and adsorbed soil gas and carbon isotope studies have shown good correlation with existing oil/gas fields of Mehsana. Microbial surveys can independently precede other geochemical and geophysical surveys to delineate area warm with hydrocarbons, and mapped microbiological anomalies may provide focus for locales of hydrocarbon accumulation in the Mehsana Block of Cambay Basin.     

Circumstellar envelopes of hot stars: Formation of extended regions of weakly ionized gas

We propose a model explaining the presence of vast regions of partially ionized gas in the interstellar medium. The circumstellar envelope of a hot star absorbs soft ionizing radiation, but transmits an appreciable fraction of the hard photons, which are absorbed much more weakly than photons with energies close to the ionization limit. For this reason, the radiation attenuated by the envelope becomes harder, and can penetrate to larger distances. For stars hotter than 50 000 K, the transition zone between the ionized and neutral gas can extend to tens or hundreds of parsecs. Thus, a region of partially ionized hydrogen, with a small gradient of the degree of ionization without a well-defined inner HII zone, can form in the interstellar medium.     

Distribution and transport of hydrocarbons in surface sediments of the alaskan outer continental shelf

Surface sediments from the Outer Continental Shelf of Alaska were analyzed for hydrocarbons as part of an environmental survey sponsored by NOAA/BLM. Sediments were collected from the proposed oil lease areas of Beaufort Sea, southeastern Bering Sea, Norton Sound, Navarin Basin, Gulf of Alaska, Kodiak Shelf and lower Cook Inlet. Data on normal and branched alkanes and di- and triterpenoids from capillary gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/ MS) indicate that the area displays little evidence of petroleum hydrocarbons (i.e., seeps) except at a few isolated stations. Beaufort Sea sediments have the highest hydrocarbon budget, whereas Kodiak Shelf sediments have the lowest. The molecular markers of the hydrocarbons are of a mixed marine autochthonous and terrestrial allochthonous origin. Norton Sound and Cook Inlet sediments contain the highest levels of terrigenous lipids and Kodiak Shelf the lowest. The abundance of alkenes implies that relatively low oxidizing conditions exist in some of the depositional areas studied, suggesting that extraneous petroleum hydrocarbons introduced into these sediments would be expected to have a relatively long residence time. The distribution of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) is complex and shows a pyrolytic origin. The data on perylene strongly favor the hypothesis that it is “performed” from terrigenous precursors and transported into the marine environment with no apparent in situ generation. Polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons of diagenetic origin are probably dominant in Gulf of Alaska and Kodiak Shelf sediments.Two stations, north of Kalgin Island, in lower Cook Inlet and one in southeastern Bering Sea show typical weathered petroleum distribution of n-alkanes and triterpenoids. Probable pathways of transport and fate of petroleum hydrocarbons in case of an oil spill are also briefly discussed.     

黄土热处理酸解烃研究

酸解烃是石油及天然气地球化学勘查中极为重要的指标，黄土样品经过热处理后酸解烃含量显著增加，通过油气区和非油气区黄土热处理酸解烃对比研究得出热处理酸解烃对油气地球化学勘查无意义，经过黄土的矿物成分，地球化学实验和酸解烃甲烷碳同位素分析得出热处理增加的烃类来自于碳酸盐矿物中有机物的热解，正常状态条件下酸解烃分析对地球化学勘查有意义。     

Geochemical exploration for hydrocarbons in the soils of southeast of Krishna-Godavari Basin, Andhra Pradesh

Surface adsorbed gas surveys and geo-microbiological surveys are known techniques of petroleum exploration and aim towards risk reduction in exploration by way of identifying the areas warm with hydrocarbons and to establish intense exploration priorities amongst the identified warm areas. The present investigation aims to explore correlation between the adsorbed gas distribution pattern with the distribution of the counts of methane, ethane, propane and butane microbial oxidizers in the sub soil samples to establish the role of the latter in identifying the upward migration of hydrocarbons especially in the known petroliferous Krishna-Godavari Basin, India. A total of 135 soil samples were collected near oil and gas fields of Tatipaka, Pasarlapudi areas of Krishna Godavari Basin, Andhra Pradesh. The soil samples were collected from a depth of 2?C2.5 m. The samples collected, were analyzed for indicator hydrocarbon oxidizing bacteria, adsorbed light gaseous hydrocarbons and carbon isotopes (??¹³C_methane). The microbial prospecting studies showed the presence of high bacterial population for methane (3.94 × 10⁵ cfu/gm), ethane (3.85 × 10⁵ cfu/gm), propane (4.85 × 10⁵ cfu/gm) and butane oxidizing bacteria (3.63 × 10⁵ cfu/gm) in soil samples indicating microseepage of hydrocarbons. The light gaseous hydrocarbon analysis showed 83 ppb, 92 ppb, 134 ppb, 187 ppb and 316 ppb of C₁, C₂, C₃, nC₄ and nC₅, respectively, and the carbon isotopic composition of ??¹³C₁ of the samples ranged between ? 36.6 ?? to ?22.7?? (Pee Dee Belemnite) values, which presents convincing evidence that the adsorbed soil gases collected from these sediments are of thermogenic origin. Geo-microbial prospecting method and adsorbed soil gas and carbon isotope studies have shown good correlation with existing oil/ gas fields of K.G basin. Microbial surveys indicating microseepage of hydrocarbons can, therefore, independently precede other geochemical and geophysical surveys to delineate areas warm with hydrocarbons and mapped microbiological anomalies may provide focus for locales of hydrocarbon accumulation in the K.G basin.     

Search for class I methanol maser emission in various types of objects in the interstellar medium

Observations of various types of objects in the northern sky were obtained at 44 GHz in the 7₀-6₁ A ⁺ methanol line on the 20-m Onsala radio telescope (Sweden), in order to search for Class I methanol maser emission in the interstellar medium: regions of formation of high-mass stars, dust rings around HII regions, and protostellar candidates associated with powerful molecular outflows and Galactic HII regions. Seven new Class Imethanolmasers have been discovered toward regions of formation of highmass stars, and the existence of two previously observed masers confirmed. The following conclusions are drawn: (1) neither the association of a bipolar outflow manifest in the wings of CO lines with a highmass protostellar object (HMPO) nor the presence of thermal emission in lines of complex molecules are sufficient conditions for the detection of Class I methanol emission; no association with HMPOs radiating at 44 GHz was found for EGOs (a new class of object tracing bipolar outflows); (2) the existence of H₂O masers and Class II methanol masers in the region of aHMPOenhances the probability of detecting Class I methanol emission toward the HMPO; Class II methanol masers with stronger line fluxes are associated with Class I methanol masers.     

过硫酸钠修复土壤中多环芳烃的准确测定

多环芳烃(PAHs)是一类具有致癌、致突变、致畸的碳氢化合物,具有较高的辛醇-水分配系数,易被土壤颗粒吸附而影响环境和人体健康。过硫酸钠(Na₂S₂O₈)氧化法是近些年来国内外修复PAHs污染土壤较为常用的方法,但现阶段在测定修复后土壤中PAHs含量、进行土壤修复效果评估时亟待解决的问题是：经该方法修复的土壤,若土壤中残留有过硫酸钠,在样品前处理过程中由于提取温度较高,可能会进一步加速多环芳烃的氧化反应,从而影响土壤中PAHs的准确测定。本文建立了一种在修复后土壤中加入还原剂抗坏血酸,与残留的过硫酸钠反应生成脱氢抗坏血酸,采用索氏提取结合气相色谱-质谱法(GC-MS)同时测定土壤中16种PAHs的方法,PAHs加标回收率为76.2%～110.0%。而修复后土壤若不加还原剂直接进行索氏提取,用GC-MS测定,可能会使部分PAHs及替代物的测定不准确,PAHs加标回收率仅为6.0%～72.4%。通过对比分析表明,在样品提取前加入还原剂,可以有效地消除残留过硫酸钠的影响,提高测定修复后土壤中PAHs含量的准确性。     

稠环芳烃和多环芳烃成因模拟

通过模拟实验发现:硫与β-胡萝卜素反应可以形成稠环芳烃,硫或氧与联苯反应可以形成多种多环芳烃。稠环芳烃主要是以一个合适的分子为基础发展形成的,多环芳烃也可以由一个分子转化形成,但主要是两个或两个以上联苯等化合物分子连接起来而成。     

Gaschromatographisehe Untersuchung einiger Systeme aus Tonmineralien und organischen Stoffen

Gas chromatographic studies of simple organic -montmorillonite systems were carried out over the temperature range 40–90° C. Experimentally derived heats of absorption and relative activity coefficients indicate that the polar group of compounds studied exhibits organic-silicate interaction over the entire temperature range. The chromatographic separation of a group of non-polar hydrocarbons is most effective over the temperature range 40–70° C, when a layer of adsorbed water is present between silicate sheets. In this case organic-water interactions are important and the chromatographic separation is largely dependent upon relative solubility of hydrocarbons in the adsorbed water. Over the temperature range 70–90° C chromatographic separation of the hydrocarbons is effected by organic-silicate interactions in the absence of adsorbed water. It is suggested that these processes are in principle effective in natural sedimentary columns.

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Herrn Prof. Dr.Carl W. Correns zum 70. Geburtstag gewidmet.