Radium uptake during barite recrystallization at 23 ± 2 °C as a function of solution composition: An experimental Ba and Ra tracer study

High-purity synthetic barite powder was added to pure water or aqueous solutions of soluble salts (BaCl₂, Na₂SO₄, NaCl and NaHCO₃) at 23 ± 2 °C and atmospheric pressure. After a short pre-equilibration time (4 h) the suspensions were spiked either with ¹³³Ba or ²²⁶Ra and reacted under constant agitation during 120-406 days. The pH values ranged from 4 to 8 and solid to liquid (S/L) ratios varied from 0.01 to 5 g/l. The uptake of the radiotracers by barite was monitored through repeated sampling of the aqueous solutions and radiometric analysis. For both ¹³³Ba and ²²⁶Ra, our data consistently showed a continuous, slow decrease of radioactivity in the aqueous phase.Mass balance calculations indicated that the removal of ¹³³Ba activity from aqueous solution cannot be explained by surface adsorption only, as it largely exceeded the 100% monolayer coverage limit. This result was a strong argument in favor of recrystallization (driven by a dissolution-precipitation mechanism) as the main uptake mechanism. Because complete isotopic equilibration between aqueous solution and barite was approached or even reached in some experiments, we concluded that during the reaction all or substantial fractions of the initial solid had been replaced by newly formed barite.The ¹³³Ba data could be successfully fitted assuming constant recrystallization rates and homogeneous distribution of the tracer into the newly formed barite. An alternative model based on partial equilibrium of ¹³³Ba with the mineral surface (without internal isotopic equilibration of the solid) could not reproduce the measured activity data, unless multistage recrystallization kinetics was assumed. Calculated recrystallization rates in the salt solutions ranged from 2.8 × 10⁻¹¹ to 1.9 × 10⁻¹⁰ mol m⁻² s⁻¹ (2.4-16 μmol m⁻² d⁻¹), with no specific trend related to solution composition. For the suspensions prepared in pure water, significantly higher rates (∼5.7 × 10⁻¹⁰ mol m⁻² s⁻¹ or ∼49 μmol m⁻² d⁻¹) were determined.Radium uptake by barite was determined by monitoring the decrease of ²²⁶Ra activity in the aqueous solution with alpha spectrometry, after filtration of the suspensions and sintering. The evaluation of the Ra uptake experiments, in conjunction with the recrystallization data, consistently indicated formation of non-ideal solid solutions, with moderately high Margules parameters (W_AB = 3720-6200 J/mol, a₀ = 1.5-2.5). These parameters are significantly larger than an estimated value from the literature (W_AB = 1240 J/mol, a₀ = 0.5).In conclusion, our results confirm that radium forms solid solutions with barite at fast kinetic rates and in complete thermodynamic equilibrium with the aqueous solutions. Moreover, this study provides quantitative thermodynamic data that can be used for the calculation of radium concentration limits in environmentally relevant systems, such as radioactive waste repositories and uranium mill tailings.     

Melt extraction and melt refertilization in mantle peridotite of the Coast Range ophiolite: an LA–ICP–MS study

The middle Jurassic Coast Range Ophiolite (CRO) is one of the most important tectonic elements in western California, cropping out as tectonically dismembered elements that extend 700 km from south to north. The volcanic and plutonic sections are commonly interpreted to represent a supra-subduction zone (SSZ) ophiolite, but models specifying a mid-ocean ridge origin have also been proposed. These contrasting interpretations have distinctly different implications for the tectonic evolution of the western Cordillera in the Jurassic. If an SSZ origin is confirmed, we can use the underlying mantle peridotites to elucidate melt processes in the mantle wedge above the subduction zone. This study uses laser ablation–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (LA–ICP–MS) to study pyroxenes in peridotites from four mantle sections in the CRO. Trace element signatures of these pyroxenes record magmatic processes characteristic of both mid-ocean ridge and supra-subduction zone settings. Group A clinopyroxene display enriched REE concentrations [e.g., Gd (0.938–1.663 ppm), Dy (1.79–3.24 ppm), Yb (1.216–2.047 ppm), and Lu (0.168–0.290 ppm)], compared to Group B and C clinopyroxenes [e.g., Gd (0.048–0.055 ppm), Dy (0.114–0.225 ppm), Yb (0.128–0.340 ppm), and Lu (0.022–0.05 ppm)]. These patterns are also evident in orthopyroxene. The differences between these geochemical signatures could be a result of a heterogeneous upper mantle or different degrees of partial melting of the upper mantle. It will be shown that CRO peridotites were generated through fractional melting. The shapes of REE patterns are consistent with variable degrees of melting initiated within the garnet stability field. Models call for 3% dry partial melting of MORB-source asthenosphere in the garnet lherzolite field for abyssal peridotites and 15–20% further partial melting in the spinel lherzolite field, possibly by hydrous melting for SSZ peridotites. These geochemical variations and occurrence of both styles of melting regimes within close spatial and temporal association suggest that certain segments of the CRO may represent oceanic lithosphere, attached to a large-offset transform fault and that east-dipping, proto-Franciscan subduction may have been initiated along this transform.     

A 44-year high-resolution ocean and atmospheric hindcast for the Mediterranean Basin developed within the HIPOCAS Project

A set of 44-year (1958–2001) homogeneous and high-resolution hindcasts of atmospheric, sea level residuals, and wave states was performed for the Mediterranean Basin within the framework of the HIPOCAS European Project. To this aim, different numerical models were used. As a first step, a Mediterranean high-resolution atmospheric database, suitable to provide realistic and homogeneous forcing for ocean hindcast runs was generated. The HIPOCAS atmospheric database was created by means of dynamical downscaling from the global reanalysis NCEP, using for that the limited area model SN-REMO along with a spectral nudging technique. In a second stage, different Mediterranean oceanic hindcasts were performed. On one hand a long-term database of sea state over the western Mediterranean was generated by means of the wave model WAM and on the other hand a sea level residual database containing storm surge events was obtained from a long-term integration of the HAMSOM model over the entire basin. The three different hindcast runs have been exhaustively validated. On that score, various simulated parameters have been compared to both satellite and in situ measurements. Such comparisons provide a measure of the skills of the different simulated fields to realistically reproduce the observed features. Once these skills are evaluated, a study of the ocean and atmospheric climate trends as well as the interannual variability for the whole 44-year period was carried out with the hindcasted data. The reliability of the data as shown by its comparison to measurements and a proven temporal homogeneity over the 44 years of simulation make the Mediterranean HIPOCAS ocean–atmosphere hindcasted database a useful tool for studies focused on regional climatic variability, as well as for further applications in coastal and environmental decision processes in the Mediterranean area.     

Bathymetry of three deep-sea channels in the northeast and central Tufts Abyssal Plain

The drainage pattern in the northeast and central Tufts Abyssal Plain is described in detail. Satellite navigation on the systematic survey has allowed precise location of the major channel systems of the northeast Pacific Ocean. Two hundred channel profiles were collected from the echograms showing the Moresby-Scott, Mukluk, and Horizon Channel Systems trending in either a southwestward or westward direction across this section of the Tufts Plain. The channel profiles illustrate the prominence of the higher and wider right-hand levee (facing downstream). The Moresby-Scott Channel System disperses in the form of several distributaries throughout the area studied, and is probably responsible for much of the sediment deposits. Unlike the Moresby-Scott, the Mukluk extends throughout the survey area as a solitary channel with one minor branch. The Horizon Channel crosses the Sedna Fracture Zone east of the Sedna Seamount and terminates in distributary fashion in the central portion of the Tufts Plain. The Moresby-Scott, Mukluk, and Horizon Channels form one major system which encompasses the entire northeast and central Tufts Abyssal Plain.     

1999年海城-岫岩地震序列的精准定位

1999年11月29日,北京时间12点10分39秒(04:10:39 UTC)在我国辽宁海城-岫岩地区发生了一次Ms5.4地震.这次地震是继1975年2月4日海城Ms7.3地震之后该地区发生的震级最大的一次地震.区域性的辽宁数字地震台网记录了这一序列的前震、主震与 余震.本文运用该台网的记录资料,用双差法对海城-岫岩地...     

In Situ Measurement of Electro-Osmotic Fluxes and Conductivity Using Single Wellbore Tracer Tests

Electro-osmosis (EO), the movement of water through porous media in response to an electric field, offers a means for extracting contaminated ground water from fine-grained sediments, such as clays, that are not easily amenable to conventional pump-and-treat approaches. The EO-induced water flux is proportional to the voltage gradient in a manner analogous to the flux dependence on the hydraulic gradient under Darcy's law. The proportionality constant, the soil electro-osmotic conductivity or k_eo, is most easily measured in soil cores using bench-top tests, where flow is one-dimensional and interfering effects attributable to Darcy's law can be directly accounted for. In contrast, quantification of EO fluxes and k_eo in the field under deployment conditions can be difficult because electrodes are placed in ground water wells that may be screened across a heterogeneous mixture of lithologies. As a result, EO-induced water fluxes constitute an approximate radial flow system that is superimposed upon a Darcy flow regime through permeable pathways that may or may not be coupled with hydraulic head differences created by the EO-induced water fluxes. A single well comparative tracer test, which indirectly measures EO fluxes by comparing wellbore tracer dilution rates between background and EO-induced water fluxes, may provide a means for routinely quantifying the efficacy of EO systems in such settings. EO fluxes measured in field tests through this technique at a ground water contamination site were used to estimate a mean k_eo value through a semianalytic line source model of the electric field. The resulting estimate agrees well with values reported in the literature and with values obtained with bench-top tests conducted on a soil core collected in the test area.     

Stratification and bottom-water hypoxia in the Pamlico River estuary

Relationships among bottom-water dissolved oxygen (DO), vertical stratification, and the factors responsible for stratification-destratification in this shallow, low tidal-energy estuary were studied using a 15-yr set of biweekly measurements, along with some recent continuous-monitoring data. Hypoxia develops only when there is both vertical water-column stratification and warm water temperature (>15°C). In July, 75% of the DO readings were <5 mg 1^?1, and one-third were <1 mg 1^?1. Severe hypoxia occurs more frequently in the upper half of the estuary than near the mouth. Both the time series data and correlation analysis results indicate that stratification events and DO levels are tightly coupled with variations in freshwater discharge and wind stress. Stratification can form or disappear in a matter of hours, and episodes lasting from one to several days seem to be common. Estimated summertime respiration rates in the water and sediments are sufficient to produce hypoxia if the water is mixed only every 6–12 d. There has been no trend toward lower bottom water DO in the Pamlico River Estuary over the past 15 yr. *** DIRECT SUPPORT *** A01BY059 00002     

Absolute magnitudes of OB and Be stars based on Hipparcos parallaxes – III

The absolute visual magnitudes, M_V , of A–M stars are based on calculated Hipparcos trigonometric parallaxes. The sample used consists of 30 986 unreddened and reddened A–M stars in luminosity classes Ia, Iab, Ib, II, III, IV and V. The colour excesses of the reddened stars were calculated using the mean colour indices, according to the SIMBAD data base and the intrinsic B − V values calibrated for the given spectral types and luminosity classes by Schmidt-Kaler. The values of the total-to-selective extinction,   R_V = A_V / E ( B − V )  , for all the reddened stars were calculated from previously published near-infrared photometric measurements. The calculated visual magnitudes, M_V , of A–M stars compare with the earlier determinations of Schmidt-Kaler. The mean absolute magnitudes published by Schmidt-Kaler are generally brighter (except for the stars in luminosity classes V and IV) than those determined in this paper.