Identification of stoichiometric iron-phosphorus colloids produced in a eutrophic lake

: Iron-rich colloids formed at the oxic-anoxic interface of a eutrophic lake (Lake Lugano; CH) were characterized by bulk chemical methods and analytical electron microscopy. Fractionation of raw waters showed that non-dissolved iron is particulate above the oxicline and mainly colloidal in the anoxic part of the hypolimnion, while non-dissolved ortho-phosphate is mostly colloidal through the water column. Because of these differences, filtration did not prove helpful for the determination of the role of iron-rich species in the scavenging of ortho-phosphate. On the other hand, analytical electron microscopy revealed that iron-rich nano-granules (ca. 50nm) are associated to the surface of bacterially produced fibrillar polysaccharides. Iron colloids in these complex entities contain important and constant amounts of phosphorus ([PO4]part:[Fe]part = 0.48 - 0.11, n = 1096 Fe-rich entities analyzed by electron microscopy), which suggests that phosphates are stoichiometrically incorporated into the hydrous iron oxide phase, with a tentative composition Fe2[OOH]1-x[(OH)3]x[PO4], during its genesis.     

Potential of EPR imaging to detect traces of primitive life in sedimentary rocks

In the prospect of the search for traces of primitive life on Earth and Mars, we investigated the possibility to detect and visualize the spatial distribution of minute amounts of organic matter in ancient rocks, in a non-destructive way, by Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Imaging (EPRI). We studied a series of non- or moderately metamorphosed siliceous rocks (cherts) of different ages ranging from 45 Ma to 3490 Ma and embedding fossile organic matter. In the case of the oldest cherts containing only mature insoluble organic matter (IOM), with IOM^• radicals characterized by a single Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) line, we could obtain three-dimensional images with sub-millimetric resolution of the organic matter distribution inside samples containing as low as 10¹⁴–10¹⁵ radicals per gram. In the case of younger cherts, containing less mature organic matter, and thus several types of organic radicals, we showed that selective imaging of each type of radical was possible provided that the EPR spectra did not overlap. Selective imaging of either the organic radicals or of the oxygen vacancy (E' centres) of the mineral matrix, which are ubiquitous in siliceous rocks, was possible, selecting either one or the other paramagnetic species with high power in-phase, 1st harmonic detection or with 90°-out-of-phase, 2nd harmonic detection of the EPR. The influence of ferromagnetic inclusions in the mineral matrix on the EPRI of the organic matter was also addressed. Image artifacts due to the ferromagnetic resonance signal of these inclusions could be easily removed by background substraction from the EPR spectra before image reconstruction. We thus showed that selective imaging by EPR of minute amounts of fossile organic matter in ancient rocks could be possible despite the magnetic complexity of such materials.     

Non-stationary future return levels for extreme rainfall over Extremadura (southwestern Iberian Peninsula)

Based on a previous study for temperature, a new method for the calculation of non-stationary return levels for extreme rainfall is described and applied to Extremadura, a region of southwestern Spain, using the peaks-over-threshold approach. Both all-days and rainy-days-only datasets were considered and the 20-year return levels expected in 2020 were estimated taking different trends into account: first, for all days, considering a time-dependent threshold and the trend in the scale parameter of the generalized Pareto distribution; and second, for rainy days only, considering how the mean, variance, and number of rainy days evolve. Generally, the changes in mean, variance and number of rainy days can explain the observed trends in extremes, and their extrapolation gives more robust estimations. The results point to a decrease of future return levels in 2020 for spring and winter, but an increase for autumn.     

北京地区闪电活动与气溶胶浓度的关系研究

基于2015—2017年北京闪电定位网(BLNET)总闪资料与35个自动空气质量监测站PM2.5数据,分析了北京地区(39.5°N—41.0°N,115.0°E—117.5°E)夏季(6—8月)闪电活动与PM2.5的时空分布特征,同时针对117次雷暴天气,探讨了气溶胶浓度变化对闪电活动的可能影响.结果表明:PM2.5浓度及总闪密度均呈现自西北向东南升高的空间分布特征.闪电峰值在污染背景下出现的时间(19∶00LT)晚于清洁背景下(15∶00LT)约4h,且总闪百分比(～20%)可达清洁背景下(～9%)的两倍.对雷暴前1～4h的PM2.5浓度与时间窗(12∶00—22∶00LT)内总闪数目的中位数进行相关分析,发现PM2.5浓度低于130μg·m-3时,PM2.5与总闪数存在明显正相关,此时气溶胶可能通过影响云微物理过程进而影响雷暴的对流发展,增强闪电活动;PM2.5大于150μg·m-3时,总闪数随PM2.5浓度的增加呈减少趋势,可能的原因是高气溶胶浓度下地面太阳辐射显著下降,对流活动受到抑制,导致闪电活动减少.当PM2.5浓度在130～150μg·m-3时,两者关系不明显.     

Modelling of internal erosion based on mixture theory: General framework and a case study of soil suffusion

A general thermo-hydro-mechanical framework for the modelling of internal erosion is proposed based on the theory of mixtures applied to two-phase porous media. The erodible soil is partitioned in two phases: one solid phase and one fluid phase. The solid phase is composed of nonerodible grains and erodible particles. The fluid phase is composed of water and fluidized particles. Within the fluid phase, species diffuse. Across phases, species transfer. The modelling of internal erosion is contributed directly by mass transfer from the solid phase towards the fluid phase. The constitutive relations governing the thermomechanical behaviour, generalised diffusion, and transfer are structured by the dissipation inequality. The particular case of soil suffusion is investigated with a focus on constitutive laws. A new constitutive law for suffusion is constructed based on thermodynamic conditions and experimental investigations. This erosion law is linearly related to the power of seepage flow and to the erosion resistance index. Owing to its simplicity, this law tackles the overall trend of the suffusion process and permits the formulation of an analytical solution. This new model is then applied to simulate laboratory experiments, by both analytical and numerical methods. The comparison shows that the newly developed model, which is theoretically consistent, can reproduce correctly the overall trend of the cumulated eroded mass when the permeability evolution is small. In addition, the results are provided for four different materials, two different specimen sizes, and various hydraulic loading paths to demonstrate the applicability of the new proposed law.     

Late Neogene sequence stratigraphic evolution of the Foz do Amazonas Basin,Brazil

The margin of the Foz do Amazonas Basin saw a shift from predominantly carbonate to siliciclastic sedimentation in the early late Miocene. By this time, the Amazon shelf had also been incised by a canyon that allowed direct influx of sediment to the basin floor, thus confirming that the palaeo‐Amazon fan had already initiated by that time (9.5–8.3 Ma). Above this interval, during a prolonged lowstand, Messinian third‐order sequences are preserved only in the incised‐valley fills of the canyon with no equivalent strata on the shelf. Third‐ and fourth‐order sequences younger than Messinian are preserved on the shelf after sea‐level rise above the shelf by the early Pliocene. Sequences younger than 3.8 Ma often show fourth‐order cyclicity with an average duration of 400 ka (larger scale eccentricity cycles) often preserved in high‐sedimentation‐rate areas of river deltas. Mass wasting and transportation of slope sediments to the basin began to play an important role in sediment dispersal at least as far back as the mid‐Pliocene, after rapid progradation had produced steeper slopes more prone to failure.