Study of two alteration systems as natural analogues for radionuclide release and migration

U-deposit hosted in hydrothermally altered tuffs in Mexico, together with weathering profiles from Cameroon were studied as natural analogues of radionuclide release and migration. Using petrological and spectroscopic methods (infrared and electron paramagnetic resonance), we have distinguished successive secondary mineral parageneses and the behaviour of radionuclides.

In the U-deposit, the mineral parageneses show that uranium migration is mainly controlled by the redox potential and silica activity of the altering solutions. The high silica content of the solutions is caused by the intense alteration of volcanic rocks. Two types of secondary clay mineral parageneses are evidenced: a kaolinization, intense where uranium is accumulated in the welded tuffs, and a smectitization mainly developed in the underlying weakly welded tuffs.

Several types of kaolinite have been defined according to their genesis (fillings in fissures and feldspar pseudomorphs), their location relative to a breccia pipe where uranium has accumulated (core and rim of the pipe; surrounding rhyolitic tuffs), and particle morphology, structural order and substitutional Fecontent. It is shown that the variations of the concentration of paramagnetic defect centres, always more than ten times as important than those measured in weathering kaolinites, are only correlated to the location of the kaolinites. The highest values correspond to the breccia pipe kaolinites, e.g. kaolinites located in the uranium accumulation zones. Moreover, one or two main defects centres are detected depending on the intimate association of kaolinites with uranium-bearing minerals. Besides, in weathering kaolinites from U-depleted laterites, defect centre concentrations are correlated to the total Fe203 content in bulk samples. This means that the defect centre acts as a memory of the travel of uranium when this element was sorbed onto iron gels in the first stage of weathering.

It is concluded that paramagnetic defect centres in kaolinites might allow an efficient fingerprint of successive irradiations in the natural analogues under study and could be an useful tool to control radionuclides migration through kaolinite-containing clayey materials such as those used for waste repository.

A better understanding of radiation efficiency as well as accurate dose-ratekaolinite-containing clayey materials such as those used for waste reposit estimation are needed for a quantitative tracing of the migration ofA better understanding of radiation efficiency as well as accurate dose-ratekaolin radionuclide elements. With this aim, a simulation has been undertaken withestimation are needed for a quantitative tracing of the migration of various radiations sources. We have determined for each irradiation the parameters of the paramagnetic centres created in order to understand the way they are forming. The knowledge of the parameters governing the formation and the stability of the radiation centres in kaolinites allow to use this mineral as a natural dosimeter.     

Experimental and theoretical study of the vibrational properties of diaspore (α-AlOOH)

Vibrational properties of diaspore, α-AlOOH, have been re-investigated using room-temperature single-crystal Raman spectroscopy and low-temperature powder infrared (IR) transmission spectroscopy. First-principles harmonic calculations based on density functional theory provide a convincing assignment of the major Raman peaks and infrared absorption bands. The large width of the Raman band related to OH stretching modes is ascribed to mode–mode anharmonic coupling due to medium-strength H-bonding. Additional broadening in the powder IR spectrum arises from depolarization effects in powder particles. The temperature dependence of the IR spectrum provides a further insight into the anharmonic properties of diaspore. Based on their frequency and temperature behavior, narrow absorption features at ~2,000 cm⁻¹ and anti-resonance at ~2,966 cm⁻¹ in the IR spectrum are interpreted as overtones of fundamental bending bands.     

A sampler-based technique for the study of near-bed sediment dynamics: application in the eastern English Channel

A simple technique for studying near-bed hydrodynamics and sediment dynamics is presented. The method combines the use of (1) a benthic tripod hosting a series of electromagnetic current meters, and (2) a newly developed near-bed multi-level water-sediment mixture sampler. The instrument package was deployed successfully at a shallow water station in the eastern English Channel. The currents at elevation 0.9 m above the bottom were asymmetrical, the flood current peak being slightly stronger than the ebb current peak. At elevation 0.3 m above the bottom, the ebb/flood current peak asymmetry vanished. The observed SSCs (suspended sediment concentrations) were tidally modulated, with a contrasting vertical distribution over the ebb and flood phases of the tidal current: the profile was uniform in the ebb phase whereas a stratification appeared in the flood phase. The depth dependence and time evolution of the SSCs are attributable to a combination of local resuspension and advection-dispersion of remotely suspended fine sediment by ebb currents. Suspended sediment fluxes were uniform during the ebb phase and increased with elevation above the bottom during the flood phase.     

Non-linear soil–structure interaction analysis based on the boundary-element method in time domain with application to embedded foundation

The various boundary-element methods, well established in the frequency domain, are developed in the time domain for a foundation embedded in a layered halfspace. They are the weighted-residual technique and the indirect boundary-element method, based on a weighted-residual equation, and the direct boundary-element method based on a reciprocity equation, both equations involving time and space. In the indirect approach, formulating the weighted-residual equation over the last time step only results in the truncated indirect boundary-element formulation which requires a reduced computational effort. In all cases, convolution integrals occur. The truncated indirect boundary-element method leads to a highly reliable algorithm, as is verified when a linear analysis in the time domain is compared to the corresponding one in the frequency domain. This boundary-element formulation, which is non-local in space and time, represents a rigorous generally applicable method taking into account a layered halfspace in a non-linear soil-structure interaction analysis. As an example, the non-linear soil-structure interaction analysis of a structure embedded in a halfspace with partial uplift of the basemat and separation of the side wall is investigated.     

Primary nitrogen production at low Z

Stellar models with axial rotation and very low metallicity Z, typical of the early star generations have been computed. These models account for the effects of rotation in the same way as previous grids which successfully reproduce the He- and N-enrichments observed at the surface of massive stars, and also the high numbers of red supergiants observed in low Z galaxies (Meynet and Maeder, 2000; Maeder and Meynet, 2001). At very low metallicity (Z = 0.00001, i.e. one two thousandth of the solar metallicity),these models naturally lead to the production of primary nitrogen. This revised version was published online in September 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A Review of “Turf Wars: Discourse,Diversity, and the Politics of Place”

The spatial correlation, or colocation, of two or more variables is a fundamental issue in geographical analysis but has received much less attention than the spatial correlation of values within a single variable, or autocorrelation. A recent paper by Leslie and Kronenfeld (2011) contributes to spatial correlation analysis in its development of a colocation statistic for categorical data that is interpreted in the same way as a location quotient, a frequently used measure in human geography and other branches of regional analysis. Geographically weighted colocation measures for categorical data are further developed in this article by generalizing Leslie and Kronenfeld's global measure as well as specifying a local counterpart for each global statistic using two different types of spatial filters: fixed and adaptive. These geographically weighted colocation quotients are applied to the spatial distribution of housing types to demonstrate their utility and interpretation.     

Composition isotopique du strontium d'eaux interstitielles extraites de sédiments récents: un argument en faveur de l'homogénéisation isotopique des minéraux argileux

The ${}^{87}\text{Sr}{}^{86}\text{Sr}$ ratio of interstitial waters squeezed from recent sediments of the Pacific Ocean increases from 0.70920 ± 0.00017 (2σ) to 0.70960 ± 0.0023 and 0.70984 ± 0.00040 at 1.50 and 1.60 m depth—reference value for sea water: 0.70910 ± 0.00035. This variation underlines the likely existence of exchanges between the clays and the interstitial environment. The isotopic homogenization of strontium between the clays and their environment, result of these changes, becomes thus a credible phenomenon. This is a new argument for the dating of clays by the $\text{Rb}\text{Sr}$ method.