Accumulation of Heavy Metals by Macrophytes at Different Levels of Pollution of Aquatic Medium

Data on heavy metals accumulation in higher aquatic plants in the Rybinsk Reservoir are presented. Some plants are shown to intensely accumulate metals depending on the degree of the reservoir pollution.     

Regional gravity investigation of Honduras, Central America

A regional gravity study of Honduras was performed as part of a major study of the geothermal resource potential of Honduras. This study was conducted by Los Alamos National Laboratory, in cooperation with the Honduras government. Regional offshore free-air and onshore Bouguer gravity maps, and residual/isostatic gravity maps of Honduras and surrounding regions were produced. From these data several regional crustal and upper mantle models were produced. These models pass through two local geothermal sites, Platanares and San Ignacio. The regional geologic and tectonic implications of the models and their relevance to the geothermal potential of Honduras and to six well known geothermal sites in particular are examined. No obvious regional structures observed in the gravity data can explain the thermal enhancement in general or the specific geothermal sites. More local tectonic or structural conditions must control the distribution of the thermally enhanced areas.     

Biaxial test simulations using a packing of polygonal particles

The mechanical response of cohesionless granular materials under monotonic loading is studied by performing molecular dynamic simulations. The diversity of shapes of soil grains is modelled by using randomly generated convex polygons as granular particles. Results of the biaxial test obtained for dense and loose media show that samples achieve the same void ratio at large strains independent of their initial density state. This limit state resembles the so‐called critical state of soil mechanics, except for some stress fluctuations, which remain for large deformations. These fluctuations are studied at the micro‐mechanical level, by following the evolution of the co‐ordination number, force chains and the fraction of the sliding contacts of the sample. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Spectroscopic studies of three novae

We present our spectroscopic observations of the novae V1425, V1493, and V1494 Aql carried out with the 125-cm telescope at the Crimean Station of the Sternberg Astronomical Institute in the wavelength range 4000–11000 Å. We measured the emission-line intensities, determined the nova shell expansion velocities from the line profile FWHMs and components, and estimated the interstellar reddening from the first members of the Balmer series. The chemical composition of the nova shells is analyzed. Nitrogen and oxygen were found to be overabundant in V1425 and V1494 Aql; the helium abundance turned out to be normal in the two stars.     

Geotechnical assessment of the bearing capacity of coal mine floors

Summary This investigation concerns 3 longwall faces having variable strata and mining conditions, but supported by 202 tonnes hydraulic 6-leg chocks. Bearing capacity tests along the faces were conducted to evaluate the factors influencing floor deformation and failure. The effect of size, shape and perimeter of the base plates, thickness of the floor layer, time and moisture on the ultimate bearing capacity of the floor was measured and discussed. Application of this work is the prediction of stability and support performance of face ends, as well as the design of support systems and ground control on production faces.     

Response of reef coral communities to sea-level rise: a Holocene model from Mauritius (Western Indian Ocean)

The fringing reef at Pointe-au-Sable (Mauritius, Indian Ocean) was used to examine the effects of Holocene sea-level rise on coral growth. This reef is about 1000 m wide and comprises a forereef slope (30 m maximum depth), a narrow reef crest and a very shallow backreef (1·5 m maximum depth). Four major coral communities were recognized, which developed within relatively narrow depth ranges: a Pachyseris/Oulophyllia community (deeper than 20 m), an Acropora‘tabulate’Faviid community (20–6 m); a robust branching Acropora community (less than 6 m) and a Pavona community (less than 10m). Three high-recovery cores show the Holocene reef sequence is a maximum of 19·3 m thick and comprises four coral biofacies which are similar to counterparts identified in modern communities: robust branching, tabular-branching, robust branching-domal and foliaceous coral facies. A minimum sea-level curve for the past 7500 years was constructed. Using distribution patterns of coral biofacies and radiocarbon dates from corals, reconstruction of reef growth history indicates that both offshore and onshore reef zones were developing coevally, aggrading at rates of 4·3 mm year^?1 from 6900 years B.P. The reef caught up with sea-level only after sea-level stabilized. Changes in coral community and reef growth rates were driven principally by increasing water agitation due to the decrease in accommodation space. Based on the composition of the successive coral assemblages, the reef appears to have grown through successive equilibrium stages.     

Mineralogy and petrology of sample 67075 and the origin of lunar anorthosites

Plagioclase in cataclastic anorthosite 67075 occurs as angular matrix grains and as recrystallized clasts of micro-anorthosite. Olivines are Fe-rich and fall into two compositional groupings. Large grains of pyroxene show exceptionally well-developed exsolution lamellae analogous to those observed in pyroxenes from layered complexes. The low-Ca component in both pigeonites and augites shows varying degrees of inversion to orthopyroxene. The lattices of host and lamellae may deviate slightly (up to 2°) from the ideal orientation. Very slow cooling from magmatic temperatures is required to produce the coarse exsolution textures and inversion features. Augite macrocrystals are distinctly subcalcic indicating crystallization at temperatures around1100 ± 50°C while host-lamellae pairs and small grains in lithic clasts and matrix indicate reequilibration on a micron scale to temperatures less than 800°C. Pyroxene compositions tend to cluster into two groups both of which are among the most Fe-rich reported for highland pyroxenes. Ti and Al contents of pyroxenes are very low and Ti, Cr, and Mn follow well-established magmatic differentiation trends. The high Cr content may reflect low?O₂ conditions and/or early crystallization of olivine and plagioclase.The⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios in lunar anorthosites are the lowest reported for any lunar rock. It is likely that anorthosites formed as cumulates during the major differentiation episode which occurred prior to～4.3AE. Recrystallization features are common and³⁹Ar/⁴⁰Ar ages cluster around 4.0 AE. This may be the result of the intense bombardment prior to 4.0 AE which caused repeated cycles of in-situ fracturing and granulation followed by recrystallization. The low siderophile element content and the inferred slow cooling indicate a plutonic source region (10km) not frequently plumbed by impact events. The Fe-rich silicates indicate crystallization from a melt at an advanced stage of fractionation. However, the low REE abundances are not consistent with late-stage crystallization. Plagioclase apparently crystallized relatively early and was concentrated by flotation and/or convection currents while the mafic minerals crystallized from a fractionated trapped liquid. The chemical, isotopic, and mineralogical data place stringent constraints on the nature of genetically related rocks and the relationship of anorthosites to other members of the ANT suite does not appear to be one ofsimple fractionation. The data presented in this paper are consistent with the Taylor-Jake?model of lunar evolution.