Experimental constraints on the relative stabilities of the two systems monazite-(Ce) – allanite-(Ce) – fluorapatite and xenotime-(Y) – (Y,HREE)-rich epidote – (Y,HREE)-rich fluorapatite,in high Ca and Na-Ca environments under P-T conditions of 200–1000 MPa and 450–750 °C

Mineralogy and Petrology - The relative stabilities of phases within the two systems monazite-(Ce) – fluorapatite – allanite-(Ce) and xenotime-(Y) – (Y,HREE)-rich fluorapatite...     

New estimates of potential impacts of sea level rise and coastal floods in Poland

Natural Hazards - Polish coastal zone is thought to be one of the most exposed to sea level rise in Europe. With mean sea levels expected to increase between 28 and 98 cm by the end of the...     

Differing responses of zircon,chevkinite-(Ce), monazite-(Ce) and fergusonite-(Y) to hydrothermal alteration: Evidence from the Keivy alkaline province,Kola Peninsula,Russia

Mineralogy and Petrology - A quartzolite from the Rova occurrence, Keivy alkali granite province, Kola Peninsula, Russia, is used to examine the differing responses of certain rare-metal minerals...     

Petroleum source rock evaluation of the Alum and Dictyonema Shales (Upper Cambrian–Lower Ordovician) in the Baltic Basin and Podlasie Depression (eastern Poland)

International Journal of Earth Sciences - We present geochemical characteristics of the Lower Palaeozoic shales deposited in the Baltic Basin and Podlasie Depression. In the study area, this strata...     

Biosorption of cadmium(II), lead(II) and cobalt(II) from aqueous solution by biochar from cones of larch (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Larix decidua</Emphasis> Mill. <Emphasis Type="Italic">subsp. decidua</Emphasis>) and spruce (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Picea abies</Emphasis> L. H. Karst)

Because of their physicochemical properties, biochars can be used as sorption materials for removal of toxic substances. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether biochar obtained from cones of larch (Larix decidua Mill. subsp. decidua) and spruce (Picea abies L. H. Karst) could be used as a sorbent for Cd²⁺, Pb²⁺ and Co²⁺ in aqueous solutions. So far, this feedstock had not been tested in this respect. The material was subjected to pyrolysis at 500 and 600 °C for the duration of 5, 10 and 15 min. The obtained pyrolysates were found to differ in terms of pH and the contents of the essential macroelements. The different values of these parameters were determined for varying temperature, duration of the pyrolysis process and type of feedstock. Sorption capacities of the biochars for removal of Cd²⁺, Pb²⁺ and Co²⁺ were examined using simulated contamination of aqueous solutions with salts of these metals. The findings showed the highest, nearly complete, removal for Pb²⁺ were maximum 99.7%, and almost three times lower value for Cd²⁺ and Co²⁺ (respectively, 35.7 and 24.8%). It was demonstrated that pyrolysis of conifer cones produced optimum sorption capacities when the process was conducted at a temperature of 500 °C for the duration of 5 min. It was shown that products of spruce cone pyrolysis were characterized by better sorption capacity in comparison with products of larch cone pyrolysis. The properties of conifer cone biochar create the possibility of using it as an adsorbent in water and wastewater treatment as well as in production of filters and activated carbon.     

Magnetic anisotropy of clayey and silty members of tertiary flysch from the Silesian and Skole nappes (Outer Carpathians)

AMS studies earlier carried out on the flysch sediments from the Outer Western Carpathians focused on the sandstone members deposited from turbidity currents. The main conclusion of these studies was that the dominant features of the AMS fabric developed during sedimentation and the tectonic overprint was weak. In recent years a large number of claystone (deposited also from turbidity currents, but in calm water) localities were sampled from the Krosno beds of the Silesian nappe, primarily for paleomagnetic study. Nevertheless, the AMS of the samples was also measured. The magnetic fabrics of the claystones were dominated by foliation, but lineations were also expressed and attributed to deformation. The question arose how different are the reactions of the claystone and the siltstone beds to deformation.     

Seismicity of Czorsztyn Lake Region: A Case of Reservoir Triggered Seismic Process?

Czorsztyn Lake is an artificial water reservoir backed up by the hydropower plant Niedzica earth dam on Dunajec River in south Poland. Its filling began in 1995 and ended in 1997. The reservoir of 234.5 million m3 capacity is shallow, between 20 to 50 m of water column, on average. Until 2011 the seismic activity in this region was sparse, some 1 event trimonthly. However, in November 2011 more than 60 events occurred. Such bursts of activity, separated by low activity periods, continue to appear. Since August 2013 the area is monitored by a local seismic network. The setup allows to accurately locate the epicenters and to determine source mechanisms for stronger events. The events are clustered and aligned along NE-SW direction and their mechanisms are very similar, indicating N-S strike slip faulting. This and the irregular pattern of activity suggest that this seismicity is triggered by the reservoir impoundment.     

Validation of joint inversion of direct current and electromagnetic measurements

One of the ways to improve the information content of a set of field data is that of combining the interpretation of disparate data sets. Electromagnetic and direct current resistivity methods suffer from inherent equivalence problem. Application of joint inversion for these measurements can overcome the problem of equivalence very well. In the present work, synthetic data from vertical electrical sounding (VES) and horizontal coplanar low-frequency induction sounding (EMHD) are inverted individually and jointly over different types of 1D earth structures. Global optimization with Monte Carlo Multistart algorithm was used in the calculations. The results obtained from the inversions of synthetic data indicate that the joint inversion significantly improves the solution reducing the ambiguity of the models.     

Magnetic mineralogy and paleomagnetism of serpentinized ultramafic rocks from the Braszowice-Brzeźnica fragment of sudetic paleozoic ophiolite

Complex paleomagnetic, rock-magnetic and mineralogical studies were performed on serpentinized utramafic rocks from Braszowice-Brze?nica massif (BB) situated at the southern extremity of the Niemcza Shear Zone, close to the Sudetic Marginal Fault. Studies of magnetic minerals revealed presence of several varieties of magnetite grains, and partly altered Cr-spinels. Paleomagnetic studies revealed stable component HS of natural remanence carried by magnetite formed probably during the initial serpentinization. The directions of HS have good grouping within each locality, but differ between localities. Studies of anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) have shown that directions of anisotropy axes are steep instead of horizontal as is common within the Niemcza Shear Zone. Taking advantage of the directions of AMS we rotated the directions of HS and brought them to the reference direction for the Sudetes for 372 Ma. We suggest that after acquiring AMS and HS during the Upper Devonian, the BB became divided into multiple units due to tectonic activity in the region.