Die Kristallstruktur von Denningit, (Mn,Ca,Zn) Te2O5. Ein Beispiel für die Koordination um vierwertiges Tellur

Zusammenfassung Denningit, (Mn, Ca, Zn) Te₂O₅ ist tetragonal mit der Raumgruppe P 4₂/n bc und den Gitterkonstanten a=8,82, c=13,04; Z=8. Die Struktur wurde mit Patterson-, Fourier- und (F_o-F_c)-Projektionen parallel [100], [110] und [001] bestimmt und verfeinert. Abschließend konnte eine least-squares-Verfeinerung durchgeführt werden. Je zwei trigonale TeO₃-Pyramiden (Te–O=1,84–2,04 ) sind zu isolierten Te₂O₅-Gruppen verbunden. Mn, Ca und Zn in 8- und in [4+2]-Koordination bilden längs [001] Ketten, die durch Te₂O₅-Gruppen miteinander verknüpft sind.

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Summary Denningite, (Mn, Ca, Zn) Te₂O₅ is tetragonal with spacegroup P 4₂/n bc and unit-cell dimensions a=8,82, c=13,04; Z=8. The structure has been determined and refined by Patterson, Fourier and (F_o-F_c) projections along [100], [110] and [001]. Finally a least-squares refinement has been carried out. Pairs of trigonal TeO₃ pyramids (Te–O=1,84–2,04) are connected to isolated Te₂O₅ groups. Mn, Ca and Zn in 8 coordination and in [4+2] coordination form chains along [001] connected by Te₂O₅ groups.

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Mit 3 Textabbildungen

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Herrn Professor Dr.F. Machatschki zum 70. Geburtstag gewidmet     

Climate Impact Response Functions: An Introduction

The concept of climate impact response function is introduced and placed into the context of integrated assessment models to analyze policy options under climate change constraints. An example of developing such response functions is presented that entails a global model of potential natural vegetation driven by a climate change pattern derived from a general circulation model. A large array of strenuous issues are introduced that will be addressed by the set of papers included in this Special Issue.     

Effects of base catalysis on the product distribution from pyrolysis of woody biomass in the presence of water

Previous work has shown that woody biomass can generate oil-like products during hydrous pyrolysis. However, the yield of extractable organic matter is rather small, and the proportion of coke is high. In order to increase the oil yield and decrease the coke generation, experiments with added base catalysts have been made. NaOH was chosen as the catalyst. Experimental design is used to investigate the effects of variable experimental conditions during pyrolysis. The results are compared with similar experiments without a catalyst, and show a general decrease in coke formation and increase in the extractable organic matter with a dominance of polar compounds. The variable with the largest effect on yields is the amount of water, while pyrolysis temperature and the amount of starting material have minor effects.     

Seismic hazard in the Northwestern Apennines

A study of the seismic hazard for the Northwestern Apennines, based on seismotectonic and seismicity data, is presented. Starting from a seismotectonic analysis, showing the complex structural evolution of the region, the seismic activity in the period 1000–1975 has been modeled by some seismic source zones justified by geostructural and seismological considerations. The recurrence statistical parameters and the attenuation laws have been determined for all these sources. With an appropriate analysis method, maps of seismic hazard for return periods of 50, 200, and 500 years were elaborated. Finally, a comparison with the map of maximum felt intensity and with hazard values calculated by a different approach is presented.     

Experiments on the morphological controls of velocity inversions in bedrock canyons

A better understanding of bedrock incision mechanisms and processes is essential to the study of long‐term landscape evolution. Yet, little is known about flow dynamics in bedrock rivers, limiting our ability to make realistic predictions of local bedrock incision rates. A recent investigation of flow through bedrock canyons of the Fraser River revealed that plunging flows, defined by the downward‐directed movement of near surface flow toward the channel bed, occur in channels that have low width‐to‐depth ratios. Plunging flows occur into deep scour pools, which are often coincident with lateral constrictions and channel spanning submerged ridges (sills). A phenomenological investigation was undertaken to reproduce the flow fields observed in the Fraser canyons and to explore morphological controls on the occurrence and relative strength of plunging flow in bedrock canyons. Our observations show that the plunging flow structure can be produced along a scour pool entrance slope by accelerating the flow at the canyon entrance either over submerged sills or through lateral constrictions. Plunging flow appears to be a function of convective deceleration into a scour pool which can be enhanced by sill height, the amount of the channel width that is constricted, pool entrance slope, discharge, and a reduction in channel width‐to‐depth ratio. Plunging flow greatly enhances the potential for incision to occur along the channel bed and is an extreme departure from the assumptions of steady, uniform flow in bedrock incision models, highlighting the need for improved formulations that account for fluid flow. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An incentive mechanism for reducing emissions from conversion of intact and non-intact forests

This paper presents a new accounting mechanism in the context of the UNFCCC issue on reducing emissions from deforestation in developing countries, including technical options for determining baselines of forest conversions. This proposal builds on the recent scientific achievements related to the estimation of tropical deforestation rates and to the assessment of ‘intact’ forest areas. The distinction between ‘intact’ and ‘non intact’ forests used here arises from experience with satellite-based deforestation measurements and allows accounting for carbon losses from forest degradation. The proposed accounting system would use forest area conversion rates as input data. An optimal technical solution to set baselines would be to use historical average figures during the time period from 1990 to 2005. The system introduces two different schemes to account for preserved carbon: one for countries with high forest conversion rates where the desired outcome would be a reduction in their rates, and another for countries with low rates. A ‘global’ baseline rate would be used to discriminate between these two country categories (high and low rates). For the hypothetical accounting period 2013–2017 and considering 72% of the total tropical forest domain for which data are available, the scenario of a 10% reduction of the high rates and of the preservation of low rates would result in approximately 1.6 billion tCO₂ of avoided emissions. The resulting benefits of this reduction would be shared between those high-rate countries which reduced deforestation and those low-rate countries which did not increase their deforestation over an agreed threshold (e.g., half of “global” baseline rate).     

Monitoring 25 years of land cover change dynamics in Africa: A sample based remote sensing approach

The study examines the changes in sub-Saharan's natural land cover resources for a 25 year period. We assess these changes in four broad land cover classes – forests, natural non-forest vegetation, agriculture and barren – by using high spatial resolution Earth observing satellites. Two sets of sample images, one ‘historical’ targeted at 1975 and a second ‘recent’ targeted at the year 2000, have been selected through a stratified random sampling technique over the study area, targeting a sampling rate of 1% in each of the strata. The results, presented at eco-region level and aggregated at sub-Saharan level, show a 57% increase in agriculture area at the expense of natural vegetation which has itself decreased by 21% over the period, with nearly 5 million hectares forest and non-forest natural vegetation lost per year. The impacts of these changes on the environment on one site and on the socio-economy on the other site are discussed and possible pressures on human well being are highlighted.     

Influence of surface/groundwater interaction on pollution by pesticides in farmlands of the Fucino Plain,central Italy

This paper analyses flow and transport of pesticides from the unsaturated zone to groundwater so as to predict concentration of those contaminants in the Fucino Plain’s groundwater, by site investigations and numerical simulations. Pesticides were detected in surface water (peaks of 13 μg L⁻¹) and groundwater (peaks of 0.37 μg L⁻¹). Modelling tools made it possible to identify that pattern of precipitation, organic matter content, and root thickness are the key factors involved in vertical seepage of pesticides. Numerical simulations indicated that a significant fraction of contaminants is leached from the most surficial soil layers through runoff, while only a secondary fraction is mobilised towards groundwater. Likelihood of contaminating deep groundwater is fairly low, whereas surface waters show higher susceptibility. Results of the proposed conceptual hydrogeological model show that pesticides are more likely to be entrained by mixing of stream water with shallow groundwater in periods of high water exploitation from shallow wells.