Sediment load calculations from point measurements in sand-bed rivers

Point velocity and suspended sediment concentration measurements are used to calculate the total sediment discharge in sand-bed rivers.Calculations with the Series Expansion of the Modified Einstein Point Procedure(SEMEPP) depend on grain diameter d_s and settling velocity ω,flow depth h,shear velocity u*,and sampling depth h_p.This procedure extends the applicability of the Modified Einstein Procedure(MEP) by using point sediment concentration and velocity measurements.This procedure is tested using the laboratory data from Coleman,and field measurements from the Enoree,Middle Rio Grande and Mississippi Rivers.Based on 801 point measurements over 124 verticals at flow depths ranging from 0.17 m to 33.5 m and sediment concentrations less than 0.1 kg L~(-1),the accuracy of the calculations depends on u*/ω and h_p/d_s.Point measurement techniques like SEMEPP are well-suited when u*/ω 5 where at least 60%of the total sediment load is measured when 90%of the flow depth is sampled.The determination of sediment discharge from point measurements is most accurate in deep rivers when h_p/d_s 10.000.and u*/ω10.Point measurements are not well-suited for shallow rivers and laboratory flumes where h 0.5 m and when u*/ω 2.     

Changes in abundance and nature of microimpact craters on the surfaces of Australasian microtektites with distance from the proposed source crater location

Abstract– Over 4600 Australasian microtektites from 11 sediment cores along an N–S transect in the Central Indian Ocean have been investigated optically for microimpact features on their surfaces. Detailed scanning electron microscope examination of 68 microtektites along this transect shows 4091 such features. These samples are located between approximate distances of 3900–5000 km from the suggested impact site in Indochina and therefore constitute distal ejecta. The morphology of the microimpacts seems to show distinct variations with distance from the source crater. The total number of microcraters on each microtektite decreases drastically from North to South indicating systematic decrease in the spatial density of the ejecta, and decrease in collisional activity between microtektites with distance from the proposed source crater location. Closer to the proposed source crater location, the microcraters are predominantly small (few μm), pit bearing with radial and concentric cracks, suggestive of violent interparticle collisions. The scenario is reverse farther from the source crater with smaller numbers of impacted microtektites due to increased dispersion of the ejecta and the microcraters are large and shallow, implying gentle collisions with larger particles. These observations provide systematic ground truth for the processes that take place as the ejecta of a large oblique impact which generated the Australasian tektite strewn field is emplaced. The microimpacts appear to take place during the descent of the ejecta and their intensity and number density decrease as a function of the spatial density of the ejecta at any given place and with distance from the source region. These features could help understand processes that take place during ejecta emplacement on planets with substantial atmosphere such as Mars and Venus.     

Pickling Waste as an Inexpensive Iron Source for Fenton Oxidation of Synthetic Dye Bath Waste

A simple, low cost, highly effective, and useful Fenton oxidation treatment of synthetic dye bath waste with pickling liquor as a source of iron (Fe²⁺ catalyst) is reported. Optimizations of contact time, Fe²⁺ and H₂O₂ doses are carried out. Oxidative de‐colorization and degradation of Reactive Blue 4 and Reactive Orange 16 was measured in terms of decrease in absorbance at their wavelength of maximum absorption (RB4, 599 nm; and RO16, 493 nm) and also as reduction in chemical oxygen demand (COD). Approximately, 62% COD was removed in 2 h at optimized doses of Fe²⁺ (8.95 mM) and H₂O₂ (61.8 mM) by using pickling waste as a source of Fe²⁺ catalyst. Similar performance efficiency was observed when neat FeSO₄ was used as a source of Fe²⁺, indicating that pickling liquor can be a low cost source of Fe²⁺ to treat synthetic dye bath waste by Fenton method.     

Bacterial response to contrasting sediment geochemistry in the Central Indian Basin

In order to investigate whether geochemical, physiographic and lithological differences in two end‐member sedimentary settings could evoke varied microbe–sediment interactions, two 25 cm long sediment cores from contrasting regions in the Central Indian Basin have been examined. Site TVBC 26 in the northern siliceous realm (10°S, 75·5°E) is organic‐C rich with 0·3 ± 0·09% total organic carbon. Site TVBC 08 in the southern pelagic red clay realm (16°S, 75·5°E), located on the flank of a seamount in a mid‐plate volcanic area with hydrothermal alterations of recent origin, is organic‐C poor (0·1 ± 0·07%). Significantly higher bacterial viability under anaerobic conditions, generally lower microbial carbon uptake and higher numbers of aerobic sulphur oxidizers at the mottled zones, characterize core TVBC 26. In the carbon‐poor environment of core TVBC 08, a doubling of the ¹⁴C uptake, a 250 times increase in the number of autotrophic nitrifiers, a four‐fold lowering in the number of aerobic sulphur oxidizers and a higher order of denitrifiers exists when compared with core TVBC 26; this suggests the prevalence of a potentially autotrophic microbial community in core TVBC 08 in response to hydrothermal activity. Microbial activity at the northern TVBC 26 is predominantly heterotrophic with enhanced chemosynthetic activity restricted to tan‐green mottled zones. The southern TVBC 08 is autotrophic with increased heterotrophic activity in the deepest layers. Notably, the bacterial activity is generally dependent on the surface productivity in TVBC 26, the carbon‐rich core, and mostly independent in TVBC 08, the carbon‐poor, hydrothermally influenced core. The northern sediment is more organic sink‐controlled and the southern sediment is more hydrothermal source‐controlled. Hydrothermal activity and associated rock alteration processes may be more relevant than organic matter delivery in these deep‐sea sediments. Thus, this study highlights the relative importance of hydrothermal activity versus organic delivery in evoking different microbial responses in the Central Indian Basin sediments.     

Determination of Ruthenium,Palladium and Iridium in 27 In ternational Reference Silicate and I Ron-Formation Rocks,Ores and Related Materials By Isotope Dilution Inductively-Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry*

Ruthenium, palladium and iridium have been determined in 27 international reference rocks, ores and related materials by inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry using isotope dilution and sample introduction by solution nebulization and electrothermal vaporization, after chemical separation by co-precipitation with tellurium. The accuracy of the procedure is discussed by comparison of the results obtained with synthetic solutions and standard samples.