Geochemistry of an acidic chromium sulfate plume

The historical disposal of acidic chromium sulfate solutions into unlined lagoons between 1953 and 1970 at an industrial site resulted in formation of a dense aqueous phase liquid (DAPL) plume [specific gravity 1.11 g/cm³, pH 3, up to 4700 mg/L Cr(III), and up to 90,000 mg/L SO₄]. The DAPL sank through the shallow glacial till aquifer to an underlying impermeable gneissic bedrock from where it migrated downgradient along buried channels incised in the bedrock. Because of its high density, the plume chemistry is sharply stratified vertically. Chromium(III) predominates in the DAPL because excess Cr(VI) not reduced in the original process has been reduced by Fe(II) derived from silicates, while Cr(OH)₃(am) occurs as surface coatings on silicate minerals and as discrete particles mixed with Fe(OH)₃(am) and Al(OH)₃(am). The solubility of Cr(OH)₃(am) accurately describes Cr(III) concentrations in the plume and nearby groundwater, while Al and Fe in solution are also consistent with solubility-controlling oxyhydroxides. Because of these solubility controls, metal cations are attenuated relative to more mobile Cl and SO₄, resulting in a chromatographic separation of solutes downgradient from the plume origin. The good agreement between predicted and observed solution concentrations illustrates the utility of equilibrium modeling when interpreting metal transport characteristics and in determining the efficacy of natural attenuation in subsurface systems.     

The necessity of fundamental emission in type III bursts

Observations of some type III radio bursts in the hectometer and kilometer wave range are compared with theoretical predictions. It is shown that the burst emission must be near the plasma frequency in the region between 10 R _⊙ and 50 R _⊙ in order to be consistent with the observed steep rise in brightness temperature for these bursts. The results of Fainberg, Malitson et al., and Haddock and Alvarez are discussed and compared with the interpretation of emission near the plasma frequency.     

Satellite-sized planetesimals and lunar origin

Exploratory calculations using accretionary theory are made to demonstrate plausible sizes of second-largest, third-largest, etc., bodies at the close of planet formation in heliocentric orbits near the planets, assuming asteroid-like size distributions at the start of the calculation. Many satellite-sized bodies are found to be available for capture, cratering, or collisional fragmentation. In the case of Earth-sized planets, the models suggest second-largest bodies of 500 to 3000 km radius, and tens of bodies larger than 100 km radius. Many of these interact with the planet before suffering any fragmentation events with each other. Collision of a large body with Earth could eject iron-deficient crust and upper mantle material, forming a cloud of refractory, volatile-poor dust that could form the Moon. Other satellite systems may have been affected by major capture or collision events of chance character.     

The behaviour of an elastic non-homogeneous half-space. Part I-line and point loads

In the first part of this paper solutions are developed for the response of a non-homogeneous half-space subjected to either a surface point load or a surface line load. The non-homogeneity considered is a variation in Young's modulus (E) with depth (z) which takes the form E=m_EZ^α where m_E is a constant and α is referred to as the non-homogeneity parameter. The variation of these solutions as the non-homogeneity parameter α varies between the limits of zero (homogeneous soil) to unity (Gibson soil) gives some fresh insight into both these limiting cases.     

Climate, water management, and policy in the San Pedro Basin: results of a survey of Mexican stakeholders near the U.S.–Mexico border

This paper reviews regional climate knowledge and vulnerability in the northern Mexico San Pedro River Basin, with a focus on water quality, quantity, and management issues on the Mexican side of the border. A discussion based on the available literature is supplemented by a survey assessing concerns about water and the quality and usability of climate and hydrologic information available to water managers and communities. The surveys indicate that the central concern for urban residents is the lack of reliable potable water due to frequent service breakdowns–with climate change and variability, specifically drought and high temperatures, as contributing factors. Water managers desire appropriate meteorological and hydrologic information to improve planning strategies, but access to this information remains limited. Considerable disagreement exists about who should pay for previously free or low-cost water and wastewater treatment. Urban users have little incentive to conserve because of the present flat, low rate and frustration with service. In rural areas, while a majority of ranchers recognize that variable climate and water loss could increasingly jeopardize their lifestyle, they seldom use meteorological information in planning or modify their water consumption. Climate vulnerability also includes potential for serious environmental health issues due to the presence of heavy metals and organic contaminants in the San Pedro.     

Semantic Expansion of Geographic Web Queries Based on Natural Language Positioning Expressions

The need for better Web search tools is getting increasing attention nowadays. About 20% of the queries currently submitted to search engines include geographic references. Thus, it is particularly important to work with the semantics of such queries, both by understanding the terminology and by recognizing geographic references in natural language text. In this paper, we explore the use of natural language expressions, which we call positioning expressions, to perform geographic searches on the Web, without resorting to geocoded data or gazetteers. Such positioning expressions denote the location of a subject of interest with respect to a landmark. Our approach leads to a query expansion technique that can be explored by virtually any keyword‐based search engine. Results obtained in our experiments show an expressive improvement over the traditional keyword‐based search and a potential path for tackling many kinds of common geographic queries.     

Development of efficient and robust Eikonal solver variants for first-arrival seismic modeling

Computational Geosciences - We have developed and tested a new Eikonal first-arrival forward model scheme by combining a fast marching method (FMM) algorithm, an upwind Eikonal solver scheme first...     

Teaching Groundwater Flow and Contaminant Transport Modeling via a Sand-Tank Model

Mathematical Geosciences - In this study, a sand-tank model as a physical analog of a real-world aquifer is presented for groundwater instruction. The sand tank is used for introducing flow nets...