Assessing the vegetation canopy influences on wind flow using wind tunnel experiments with artificial plants

Wind erosion causes serious problems and considerable threat in most regions of the world. Vegetation on the ground has an important role in controlling wind erosion by covering soil surface and absorbing wind momentum. A set of wind tunnel experiments was performed to quantitatively examine the effect of canopy structure on wind movement. Artificial plastic vegetations with different porosity and canopy shape were introduced as the model canopy. Normalized roughness length (Z ₀/H) and shear velocity ratio (R) were analyzed as a function of roughness density (λ). Experiments showed that Z ₀/H increases and R decreases as λ reaches a maximum value, λ _max, while the values of Z ₀/H and R showed little change with λ value beyond as λ _max.     

Si and O self-diffusion in hydrous forsterite and iron-bearing olivine from the perspective of defect chemistry

We discuss the experimental results of silicon and oxygen self-diffusion coefficients in forsterite and iron-bearing olivine from the perspective of defect chemistry. Silicon diffusion is dominated by V_O ^··-associated V_Si″″, whereas oxygen diffusion is dominated by hopping of V_O ^·· under anhydrous conditions, and by (OH)_O ^· under hydrous conditions. By considering the charge neutrality condition of [(OH)_O ^·] = 2[V_Me″] in hydrous forsterite and iron-bearing olivine, we get D _Si ∝ (\(C_{{{\text{H}}_{2} {\text{O}}}}\))^1/3 and D _O ∝ (\(C_{{{\text{H}}_{2} {\text{O}}}}\))⁰, which explains the experimental results of water effects on oxygen and silicon self-diffusion rates (Fei et al. in Nature 498:213–215, 2013; J Geophys Res 119:7598–7606, 2014). The \(C_{{{\text{H}}_{2} {\text{O}}}}\) dependence of creep rate in the Earth’s mantle should be close to that given by Si and O self-diffusion coefficients obtained under water unsaturated conditions.     

Hydrogen sites in the dense hydrous magnesian silicate phase E: a pulsed neutron powder diffraction study

Hydrogen site positions and occupancy in the crystal structure of dense hydrous magnesium silicate (DHMS) phase E were determined for the first time by pulsed neutron powder diffraction. A fully deuterated pure phase E powder sample, which had space group \(R\overline{3} m\) and lattice parameters of a = 2.97065(8) Å and c = 13.9033(4) Å, was synthesized at 15 GPa and 1100 °C. Through quantitative evaluation of refined structure parameters obtained with sufficient spatial resolution and very high signal-to-background ratio, we conclude that the O–D dipoles in the refined phase E structure are tilted by 24° from the direction normal to the layers of edge-shared MgO₆ octahedra (octahedral layers). The tilted dipole structure of phase E is in remarkable contrast to that of brucite, Mg(OH)₂, which has dipoles exactly normal to the octahedral layer. This contrast exists because the O–Si–O bonding unique in the phase E structure connects two adjacent octahedral layers and thereby reduces the interlayer O···O distance. This shrinkage of the interlayer distance induces the tilting of the O–D dipole and also generates unique O–D···O hydrogen bonding connecting all the layers in the phase E structure.     

Thermal equation of state of natural tourmaline at high pressure and temperature

Synchrotron-based in situ angle-dispersive X-ray diffraction experiments were conducted on a natural uvite-dominated tourmaline sample by using an external-heating diamond anvil cell at simultaneously high pressures and temperatures up to 18 GPa and 723 K, respectively. The angle-dispersive X-ray diffraction data reveal no indication of a structural phase transition over the P–T range of the current experiment in this study. The pressure–volume–temperature data were fitted by the high-temperature Birch–Murnaghan equation of state. Isothermal bulk modulus of K ₀ = 96.6 (9) GPa, pressure derivative of the bulk modulus of \(K_{0}^{\prime } = 12.5 \;(4)\), thermal expansion coefficient of α ₀ = 4.39 (27) × 10^?5 K^?1 and temperature derivative of the bulk modulus (?K/?T) _P  = ?0.009 (6) GPa K^?1 were obtained. The axial thermoelastic properties were also obtained with K _a0 = 139 (2) GPa, \(K_{a0}^{\prime }\) = 11.5 (7) and α _a0 = 1.00 (11) × 10^?5 K^?1 for the a-axis, and K _c0 = 59 (1) GPa, \(K_{c0}^{\prime }\) = 11.4 (5) and α _c0 = 2.41 (24) × 10^?5 K^?1 for the c-axis. Both of axial compression and thermal expansion exhibit large anisotropic behavior. Thermoelastic parameters of tourmaline in this study were also compared with that of the other two ring silicates of beryl and cordierite.     

Ionic conductivity in gem-quality single-crystal alkali feldspar from the Eifel: temperature,orientation and composition dependence

We measured the ion conductivity of single-crystal alkali feldspar originating from two different locations in the Eifel/Germany, named Volkesfeld and Rockeskyller sanidine and having potassium site fractions \(C_\mathrm{K}\) of 0.83 and 0.71, respectively. The dc conductivities resulting from electrochemical impedance spectroscopy over the temperature range of 300–900 \(^{\circ }\hbox {C}\) show a weak composition dependence but pronounced differences between the b-direction [\(\perp (010)\)] and \(c^{*}\)-direction [\(\perp (001)\)] of the monoclinic feldspar structure. Conductivity activation energies obtained from the observed linear Arrhenius plots are close to 1.2 eV in all cases, which is closely similar to the activation energies of the \(^{22}\mathrm{Na}\) tracer diffusivity in the same crystals. Taking into account literature data on K tracer diffusion and diffusion correlation effects, the present results point to a predominance of the interstitialcy mechanism over the vacancy mechanism in mass and charge transport on the alkali sublattice in potassium-rich alkali feldspar.     

大兴安岭北段争光金矿床成因探讨:来自流体包裹体及稳定同位素的制约

争光浅成低温热液型金矿床位于大兴安岭成矿带北段,是多宝山矿集区内的一个重要矿床。文章通过流体包裹体和C_H_O_He_Ar同位素的系统研究,对该矿床成矿流体和矿床成因进行了深入探讨。矿床成矿作用可划分为4个主要阶段:石英_黄铁矿阶段(成矿前阶段)、石英_多金属硫化物阶段(主成矿阶段)、方解石_(石英)_多金属硫化物阶段(主成矿阶段)和方解石阶段(成矿后阶段)。流体包裹体研究表明,争光金矿床主要发育富液相流体包裹体。石英_黄铁矿阶段、方解石_(石英)_多金属硫化物阶段和方解石阶段流体包裹体的均一温度分别介于116~243℃(集中于150~170℃)、129~294℃(集中于140~160℃)和130~155℃(集中于130~150℃);w(NaCleq)分别介于0.9%~10.1%、1.2%~13.8%和2.7%~8.7%。成矿流体具有低温、低盐度、相对还原的特征,属H_2O_Na Cl体系。石英_黄铁矿阶段成矿流体的δD和δ18O分别为-127‰~-110‰和-5.9‰~0.6‰,蚀变围岩的δD值和δ18O值分别为-118‰~-108‰和6.3‰~7.9‰。方解石_(石英)_多金属硫化物阶段和方解石阶段方解石的δ~(13)C分别为-5.3‰~-2.0‰和-2.9‰~-2.2‰,δ18O分别为7.7‰~9.3‰和9.9‰~13.5‰。黄铁矿流体包裹体的~3He/~4He、~(40)Ar/~(36)Ar和~(40)Ar*/4He比值分别为1.75~3.06 Ra、683~1295和0.30~0.63。综合流体包裹体特征和稳定同位素组成,认为成矿早阶段成矿流体为大气降水与围岩发生水_岩反应后的演化水。随着成矿作用的进行,成矿流体变为大气降水与岩浆水的混合水,但仍以大气降水为主导。成矿流体与贫H_2S的流体混合和硫化物沉淀的共同作用可能是该矿床金沉淀的主要机制。     

Phase relation of CaSO<Subscript>4</Subscript> at high pressure and temperature up to 90 GPa and 2300 K

Calcium sulfate (CaSO₄), one of the major sulfate minerals in the Earth’s crust, is expected to play a major role in sulfur recycling into the deep mantle. Here, we investigated the crystal structure and phase relation of CaSO₄ up to ~90 GPa and 2300 K through a series of high-pressure experiments combined with in situ X-ray diffraction. CaSO₄ forms three thermodynamically stable polymorphs: anhydrite (stable below 3 GPa), monazite-type phase (stable between 3 and ~13 GPa) and barite-type phase (stable up to at least 93 GPa). Anhydrite to monazite-type phase transition is induced by pressure even at room temperature, while monazite- to barite-type transition requires heating at least to 1500 K at ~20 GPa. The barite-type phase cannot always be quenched from high temperature and is distorted to metastable AgMnO₄-type structure or another modified barite structure depending on pressure. We obtained the pressure–volume data and density of anhydrite, monazite- and barite-type phases and found that their densities are lower than those calculated from the PREM model in the studied P–T conditions. This suggests that CaSO₄ is gravitationally unstable in the mantle and fluid/melt phase into which sulfur dissolves and/or sulfate–sulfide speciation may play a major role in the sulfur recycling into the deep Earth.     

In situ high-temperature X-ray diffraction and spectroscopic study of fibroferrite,FeOH(SO<Subscript>4</Subscript>)·5H<Subscript>2</Subscript>O

The thermal dehydration process of fibroferrite, FeOH(SO₄)·5H₂O, a secondary iron-bearing hydrous sulfate, was investigated by in situ high-temperature synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction (HT-XRPD), in situ high-temperature Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (HT-FTIR) and thermal analysis (TGA-DTA) combined with evolved gas mass spectrometry. The data analysis allowed the determination of the stability fields and the reaction paths for this mineral as well as characterization of its high-temperature products. Five main endothermic peaks are observed in the DTA curve collected from room T up to 800 °C. Mass spectrometry of gases evolved during thermogravimetric analysis confirms that the first four mass loss steps are due to water emission, while the fifth is due to a dehydroxylation process; the final step is due to the decomposition of the remaining sulfate ion. The temperature behavior of the different phases occurring during the heating process was analyzed, and the induced structural changes are discussed. In particular, the crystal structure of a new phase, FeOH(SO₄)·4H₂O, appearing at about 80 °C due to release of one interstitial H₂O molecule, was solved by ab initio real-space and reciprocal-space methods. This study contributes to further understanding of the dehydration mechanism and thermal stability of secondary sulfate minerals.     

Anisotropic mechanical properties of zircon and the effect of radiation damage

This study provides new insights into the relationship between radiation-dose-dependent structural damage due to natural U and Th impurities and the anisotropic mechanical properties (Poisson’s ratio, elastic modulus and hardness) of zircon. Natural zircon samples from Sri Lanka (see Muarakami et al. in Am Mineral 76:1510–1532, 1991) and synthetic samples, covering a dose range of zero up to 6.8 × 10¹⁸ α-decays/g, have been studied by nanoindentation. Measurements along the [100] crystallographic direction and calculations, based on elastic stiffness constants determined by Özkan (J Appl Phys 47:4772–4779, 1976), revealed a general radiation-induced decrease in stiffness (~54 %) and hardness (~48 %) and an increase in the Poisson’s ratio (~54 %) with increasing dose. Additional indentations on selected samples along the [001] allowed one to follow the amorphization process to the point that the mechanical properties are isotropic. This work shows that the radiation-dose-dependent changes of the mechanical properties of zircon can be directly correlated with the amorphous fraction as determined by previous investigations with local and global probes (Ríos et al. in J Phys Condens Matter 12:2401–2412, 2000a; Farnan and Salje in J Appl Phys 89:2084–2090, 2001; Zhang and Salje in J Phys Condens Matter 13:3057–3071, 2001). The excellent agreement, revealed by the different methods, indicates a large influence of structural and even local phenomena on the macroscopic mechanical properties. Therefore, this study indicates the importance of acquiring better knowledge about the mechanical long-term stability of radiation-damaged materials.     

粤北下庄矿田太平庵地区闪长玢岩的发现及其年代学特征

粤北下庄矿田是我国南方重要的花岗岩型铀矿产地,矿田内部基性岩脉与铀矿成矿具有密切关系,侵位于产铀岩体-下庄岩体。野外地质接触关系表明,下庄岩体侵位较早,晚期NNE向岩脉在下庄岩体内部侵位,两者呈侵入接触关系。通过对太平庵地区岩脉的野外地质特征和岩石薄片镜下特征,认为岩脉多具杏仁构造,为斑状结构,斑晶主要为角闪石和斜长石,定名为闪长玢岩。本次研究团队通过锆石U-Pb年代学测试表明下庄岩体侵位时间为245Ma,矿田内部近EW向分布的五组辉绿岩脉侵位时间为193±4Ma(王连训等,2011),本人结合NNE向岩脉的锆石CL图像、U-Pb年龄分析了岩脉的年代学特征,认为样品的206Pb/238U年龄介于231～253 Ma之间(MSWD=0.77),加权平均结果为242±2Ma (MSWD=8.9),代表了太平庵地区NNE向中性岩脉闪长玢岩的侵位结晶年龄。