Structural and biological control of the Cenozoic epithermal uranium concentrations from the Sierra Pe?a Blanca, Mexico

Epithermal uranium deposits of the Sierra Pe?a Blanca are classic examples of volcanic-hosted deposits and have been used as natural analogs for radionuclide migration in volcanic settings. We present a new genetic model that incorporates both geochemical and tectonic features of these deposits, including one of the few documented cases of a geochemical signature of biogenic reducing conditions favoring uranium mineralization in an epithermal deposit. Four tectono-magmatic faulting events affected the volcanic pile. Uranium occurrences are associated with breccia zones at the intersection of fault systems. Periodic reactivation of these structures associated with Basin and Range and Rio Grande tectonic events resulted in the mobilization of U and other elements by meteoric fluids heated by geothermal activity. Focused along breccia zones, these fluids precipitated under reducing conditions several generations of pyrite and uraninite together with kaolinite. Oxygen isotopic data indicate a low formation temperature of uraninite, 45–55°C for the uraninite from the ore body and ～20°C for late uraninite hosted by the underlying conglomerate. There is geochemical evidence for biological activity being at the origin of these reducing conditions, as shown by low δ³⁴S values (～?24.5‰) in pyrites and the presence of low δ¹³C (～?24‰) values in microbial patches intimately associated with uraninite. These data show that tectonic activity coupled with microbial activity can play a major role in the formation of epithermal uranium deposits in unusual near-surface environments.     

Effect of groundwater pH and ionic strength on strontium sorption in aquifer sediments: Implications for Sr mobility at contaminated nuclear sites

Strontium-90 is a beta emitting radionuclide produced during nuclear fission, and is a problem contaminant at many nuclear facilities. Transport of ⁹⁰Sr in groundwaters is primarily controlled by sorption reactions with aquifer sediments. The extent of sorption is controlled by the geochemistry of the groundwater and sediment mineralogy. Here, batch sorption experiments were used to examine the sorption behaviour of ⁹⁰Sr in sediment–water systems representative of the UK Sellafield nuclear site based on groundwater and contaminant fluid compositions. In experiments with low ionic strength groundwaters (<0.01 mol L⁻¹), pH variation is the main control on sorption. The sorption edge for ⁹⁰Sr was observed between pH 4 and 6 with maximum sorption occurring (K_d ∼ 10³ L kg⁻¹) at pH 6–8. At ionic strengths above 10 mmol L⁻¹, and at pH values between 6 and 8, cation exchange processes reduced ⁹⁰Sr uptake to the sediment. This exchange process explains the lower ⁹⁰Sr sorption (K_d ∼ 40 L kg⁻¹) in the presence of artificial Magnox tank liquor (IS = 29 mmol L⁻¹). Strontium K-edge EXAFS spectra collected from sediments incubated with Sr²⁺ in either HCO₃-buffered groundwater or artificial Magnox tank liquor, revealed a coordination environment of ∼9 O atoms at 2.58–2.61 Å after 10 days. This is equivalent to the Sr²⁺ hydration sphere for the aqueous ion and indicates that Sr occurs primarily in outer sphere sorption complexes. No change was observed in the Sr sorption environment with EXAFS analysis after 365 days incubation. Sequential extractions performed on sediments after 365 days also found that ∼80% of solid associated ⁹⁰Sr was exchangeable with 1 M MgCl₂ in all experiments. These results suggest that over long periods, ⁹⁰Sr in contaminated sediments will remain primarily in weakly bound surface complexes. Therefore, if groundwater ionic strength increases (e.g. by saline intrusion related to sea level rise or by design during site remediation) then substantial remobilisation of ⁹⁰Sr is to be expected.     

The new accelerograph network for Santa Fe De Bogota, Colombia and implications for microzonation

The new accelerographic network of Santa Fe de Bogotá is composed of 29 three-component stations with sensors at the surface and three additional six-component borehole stations with three sensors at the surface and three at depth (115, 126 and 184 m). In total, 32 stations have been operative in the metropolitan area of Bogotá since 1999. During this period of time, a significant number of weak motion are recorded and used for a preliminary analysis of local site effects. Using the SH-wave response spectra we verify the behavior of the different seismic zones proposed by the previous microzonation study of the city. A comparison between normalized SH-wave response spectra and the normalized design spectra for each zone clearly depicts that parts of the design spectra should be revised, as well as the boundaries between different zones may require some changes. The spectral amplification levels reach up to a factor of 5. The predominant periods obtained by the amplification spectra in different stations in the city, show variability from 0.3 to 3.0 s. A comparison is also made between the predominant periods obtained using H/V spectral ratios of microtremors and those using weak motion. In general, microtremors tend to predict slightly lower values of dominant periods than those calculated by the weak motion spectra. However, there is a general correlation between the two data sets. Using the data recorded by one of the borehole station, an equivalent linear seismic response analysis was conducted. The modeled and recorded response spectra show similarities in period peaks, however, the modeled soil amplification is underestimated for periods less than 0.8 s. Since the available record is weak motion which represents mostly the linear response of the soils, further analysis is required.     

Application of enterococci antibiotic resistance patterns for contamination source identification at Huntington Beach,California

Huntington Beach, California, one of the most popular surfing spots in the world, is plagued by sporadic, elevated levels of fecal bacteria. To assist with pollution source identification, we analyzed antibiotic resistance patterns (ARPs) of enterococci from four known sources (bird feces, urban runoff, coastal marsh sediment and sewage effluent from local sanitation district) and one unknown source (seawater) using seven antibiotics at four concentrations each. Of 2491 enterococci tested, all were resistant to at least one antibiotic at some level. Discriminant analysis indicated that the average correct classification rates for bird feces and urban runoff sources were above 80%. Sewage effluent contained mixed fecal sources. Sixty-four percent of the sewage isolates classified with the sewage category, while the other 35% of isolates were assigned evenly across the other three categories. When enterococci isolated from the seawater were classified using the known ARP database, it was evident that bird feces were the source of surf zone contamination on some days while the coastal salt marsh and sewage plume may have impacted the surf zone water quality to various degrees during other times.     

Timescales of melt generation and the thermal evolution of the Himalayan metamorphic core,Everest region,eastern Nepal

In the Everest region of the Nepalese Himalaya, ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar and U-Pb geochronology provide evidence for a complex thermal history marked by multiple episodes of granite intrusion. The oldest mobilized melt formed syn-deformational granitic sills that have U-Pb crystallization ages of 21.33±0.03 and 21.80±0.05 Ma. Preserved in these same granites is a record of earlier magmatic crystallization of xenotime, zircon and monazite between ca. 26 Ma and ca. 23 Ma. This pattern of accessory phase crystallization is interpreted to reflect incremental melting and crystallization in the source region of the sills before ultimate melt migration, and provides the earliest evidence for anatexis in the Everest region. The beginning of crustal melting in the Everest region predates the earliest known movement on both the Main Central Thrust and the South Tibetan fault systems, but is temporally associated with the implied pressure decrease between Eohimalayan and Neohimalayan metamorphism.     

Experiences and perspective in compiling long-term remote sensing data sets on landscapes and biospheric processes

Remote sensing has been employed to study the Earth's landscapes for more than a century. Over the last thirty years major changes in all aspects of the technology, as well as scientific understanding of the measurements, have revolutionized use of these data for terrestrial research. The emergence of biophysical interpretations of land remotely sensed data has created great interest in the potential of these data to study the dynamics of landscapes and biospheric processes as contributors to global change. However, the evolutionary history of land remote sensing, particularly in the Landsat era, has in many ways worked against this use of the data. Until recently, there was little appreciation of the need to compile long-term historical records of these observations. There are currently no formal scientific institutional systems dedicated to preserving and distributing the long-term record of Earth observations acquired by Landsat, AVHRR or other land observing systems. As the International Geosphere-Biosphere Program begins, this issue should be one of the first priorities of the participants.     

Sums, products, and ratios for downton’s bivariate exponential distribution

Motivated by environmental applications, we derive the exact distributions of R = X+Y, P = X Y and W = X/(X+Y) and the corresponding moment properties when X and Y follow Downton’s bivariate exponential distribution. The expressions turn out to involve several special functions. For practical purposes, we also provide extensive tabulations of the percentage points associated with the distributions.     

Nonlinear analysis of rainfall dynamics in California's Sacramento Valley

This study investigates the dynamic nature of rainfall observed at the Sustainable Agriculture Farming Systems (SAFS) site in California's Sacramento Valley, which was established to study the benefits of winter cover cropping in Mediterranean irrigated‐arid systems. Rainfall data of four different temporal scales (i.e. daily, weekly, biweekly, and monthly) are analysed to determine the dynamic nature of precipitation in time. In an arid climate with seasonal precipitation this has large implications for land and water management, both in the short term and in the long term. A nonlinear dynamic technique (correlation dimension method) that uses the phase‐space reconstruction and dimension concepts is employed. Bearing in mind the possible effects of the presence of zeros (i.e. no rain) on the outcomes of this analysis, an attempt is also made to compare the dynamic nature of all‐year rainfall and winter rainfall. Analysis of 15 years of data suggests that rainfall dynamics at this site are dominated by a large number of variables, regardless of the scales and seasons studied. The dimension results also suggest that: (1) rainfall dynamics at coarser resolutions are more irregular than that at finer resolutions; (2) winter rainfall has a higher variability than all‐year rainfall. These results are indeed useful to gain information about the complexity of the rainfall process at this site with respect to (temporal) scales and seasons and, hence, the appropriate model (high‐dimensional) type. However, in view of the potential effects of certain rainfall data characteristics (e.g. zeros, measurement errors, scale effects) on the correlation dimension analysis, the discussion also emphasizes the need for further verification, and possibly confirmation, of these results. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A comparative study of the effect of desferrioxamine B, oxalic acid, and Na-alginate on the desorption of U(VI) from goethite at pH 6 and 25 °C

Organic ligands affect the sorption and mobility of radionuclides in soils. Batch desorption experiments on goethite particles reveal the extent of uranyl desorption and hence bioavailability with different organic acids. The desorptive strength increases in the following order: background electrolyte < Na-alginate < desferrioxamine B (DFO-B) < oxalate. The sequence is consistent with decreasing molecular size and mass from alginate via DFO-B to oxalate. The concomitant Fe release in the desorption experiments indicates that desorption from goethite and not dissolution of goethite governs the mobility of adsorbed U(VI). A compilation of DFO-B surface excesses on goethite from our experiments together with literature values indicate that DFO-B adsorbs at a constant ∼3% to the goethite surface. It is surprising that such a small fraction suffices to account for the considerable uranyl desorption and thus remobilization of a radionuclide into solution. Oxalate displays higher surface concentrations but still lower than the determined uranyl surface excess. It follows that based on the high U(VI) stability constants, both organic ligands induce the desorption of uranyl species by increasing the chemical affinity of the aqueous phase. In the case of alginate, desorption of uranyl is weak and adsorbed alginate hampers any considerable detachment of U(VI) in the presence of the more potent ligands, DFO-B and oxalate. This inhibition is based on biosorption and in this respect polysaccharides in soils may retard and even halt the advance of actinides through the soil column. This hypothesis calls for further studies into the interaction of siderophores and polysaccharides with soil adsorbents and their role in the mobilization of contaminant metals.     

An inter-comparison of regional climate models for Europe: model performance in present-day climate

The analysis of possible regional climate changes over Europe as simulated by 10 regional climate models within the context of PRUDENCE requires a careful investigation of possible systematic biases in the models. The purpose of this paper is to identify how the main model systematic biases vary across the different models. Two fundamental aspects of model validation are addressed here: the ability to simulate (1) the long-term (30 or 40 years) mean climate and (2) the inter-annual variability. The analysis concentrates on near-surface air temperature and precipitation over land and focuses mainly on winter and summer. In general, there is a warm bias with respect to the CRU data set in these extreme seasons and a tendency to cold biases in the transition seasons. In winter the typical spread (standard deviation) between the models is 1 K. During summer there is generally a better agreement between observed and simulated values of inter-annual variability although there is a relatively clear signal that the modeled temperature variability is larger than suggested by observations, while precipitation variability is closer to observations. The areas with warm (cold) bias in winter generally exhibit wet (dry) biases, whereas the relationship is the reverse during summer (though much less clear, coupling warm (cold) biases with dry (wet) ones). When comparing the RCMs with their driving GCM, they generally reproduce the large-scale circulation of the GCM though in some cases there are substantial differences between regional biases in surface temperature and precipitation.