Multifacetted study of a cretaceous coal with algal affinities—II. Composition of liquefaction products

Two hydrogen-rich lithobodies of highly alipathic character from a coal occurring in southwest Utah, have been studied. Bituminite (>50%), vitrinite (25–30%) and liptodetrinite (7–12%) are the principal macerals. The hexane-soluble products of hydrogenating the lithotypes at 400° with tetralin and hydrogen have been analyzed by GC-MS. Products identified include homologous series of alkylated naphthalenes, phenols, furans, cyclohexenones and hydroxy-pyridines. In the case of furans, the alkyl groups extend beyond C₃₀. Materials released by Soxhlet extraction with pyridine consist chiefly of homologous series of fatty acids and their methyl esters and of methyl alkyl ketones, which were not found in the hydrogenation products. The long alkyl chains in these substances can account for about 75% of the alkanes found in the hydrogenation products but not in the extracts. Most of the compounds mentioned in the foregoing are thought to be physically held or trapped in the coal, rather than chemically combined in its macromolecular network. Except for the fatty acids, the origins of these substances are difficult to identify.     

Low-Frequency Plasma Waves in the Outer Polar CUSP: A Review of Observations from Prognoz 8, Interball 1, Magion 4, and Cluster

This paper presents a review of the most interesting observations of low-frequency plasma waves together with plasma particles which were made by the Interball 1, Magion 4 and Prognoz 8 satellites in the outer polar cusp. Accelerated plasma particles, hot electron populations and very strong wave activity, particularly at low frequencies, are observed. A detailed study of the wave spectra together with the distribution function for electrons indicate the correlation between the presence of lower-hybrid waves and the population of the particles with higher energy than in the surrounding space. These experimental facts suggest that strong coupling between waves and particles is responsible for plasma heating. During polar cusp crossings by Interball 1 and Prognoz 8, FFT analysis of the wave form indicates many bursts of ULF emissions in both electric and magnetic components. These waves have highly non-stationary characteristics. To study the dynamics of changes in the spectral characteristics of the waves wavelet analysis has been used. Nonlinear interactions are studied using bispectral methods of analysis. This presentation gives the results of such an analysis for selected cusp crossings at different altitudes. An example of wave activity registered by the STAFF instrument onboard the CLUSTER spacecraft in the polar cusp is also presented.     

Seismic performance of steel friction connections considering direct-repair costs

This study compares seismic losses considering initial construction costs and direct-repair costs for New Zealand steel moment-resisting frame buildings with friction connections and those with extended bolted-end-plate connections. A total of 12 buildings have been designed and analysed considering both connection types, two building heights (4-storey and 12-storey), and three locations around New Zealand (Auckland, Christchurch, and Wellington). It was found that buildings with friction connections required design to a higher design ductility, yet are generally stiffer due to larger beams being required to satisfy higher connection overstrength requirements. This resulted in the frames with friction connections experiencing lower interstorey drifts on most floors but similar peak total floor accelerations, and subsequently incurring lower drift-related seismic repair losses. Frames with friction connections tended to have lower expected net-present-costs within 50 years of the building being in service for shorter buildings and/or if located in regions of high seismicity. None of the frames with friction connections in Auckland showed any benefits due to the low seismicity of the region.     

Optimization of mobile radioactivity monitoring networks

In case of a nuclear accident, decision makers rely on high-resolution and accurate information about the spatial distribution of radioactive contamination surrounding the accident site. However, the static nuclear monitoring networks of many European countries are generally too coarse to provide the desired level of spatial accuracy. In the Netherlands, authorities are considering a strategy in which measurement density is increased during an emergency using complementary mobile measuring devices. This raises the question, where should these mobile devices be placed? This article proposes a geostatistical methodology to optimize the allocation of mobile measurement devices, such that the expected weighted sum of false-positive and false-negative areas (i.e. false classification into safe and unsafe zones) is minimized. Radioactivity concentration is modelled as the sum of a deterministic trend and a zero-mean spatially correlated stochastic residual. The trend is defined as the outcome of a physical atmospheric dispersion model, NPK-PUFF. The residual is characterized by a semivariogram of differences between the outputs of various NPK-PUFF model runs, designed to reflect the effect of uncertainty in NPK-PUFF meteorological inputs (e.g. wind speed, wind direction). Spatial simulated annealing is used to obtain the optimal monitoring design, in which accessibility of sampling sites (e.g. distance to roads) is also considered. Although the methodology is computationally demanding, results are promising and the computational load may be considerably reduced to compute optimal mobile monitoring designs in nearly real time.     

Current changes of the lower troposphere temperature in the Moscow region

Modern climatic changes for 1991–2013 in the lower 4-km layer of the atmosphere in the Moscow region are discussed based on long-term measurements using radiosondes in Dolgoprudny near Moscow and sensors installed on a high mast in Obninsk and on a television tower in Ostankino in Moscow. It is shown that at the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century the mean-annual air temperature at all heights from 2 to 4000 m increased by an average of 0.1°C per year. In recent years, the warming has slowed. Over the last two decades, long-term changes were multidirectional, depending on the season: warming in May–December, cooling in January–February, and no statistically significant changes in March and April. The probable reason for the temperature decrease in the middle of the cold period is changes in the large-scale atmospheric circulation during recent years (the negative phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation in early 2010s). In recent years, the Moscow region climate continentality has increased because of warming in summer and cooling in winter, despite the secular decreasing trend, which was noted before. Mean daily and annual warming rates in Dolgoprudny were higher than in Obninsk. The probable reason is the northward construction expansion and the strengthening of the Moscow heat island. The highest annual temperature amplitude is recorded at heights of 200–300 m.     

The tectono‐stratigraphic evolution of the Austral Basin and adjacent areas against the background of Andean tectonics,southern Argentina,South America

The Austral Basin (or Magallanes Basin) in southern Argentina is situated in a highly active tectonic zone. The openings of the South Atlantic and the Drake Passage to the east and south, active subduction in the west, and the related rise of the Andes have massively influenced the evolution of this area. To better understand the impacts of these tectonic events on basin formation to its present‐day structure we analysed 2D seismic reflection data covering about 95 000 km² on‐ and 115 000 km² offshore (Austral ‘Marina’ and Malvinas Basin). A total of 10 seismic horizons, representing nine syn‐ and post‐ rift sequences, were mapped and tied to well data to analyse the evolution of sedimentary supply and depocenter migration through time. 1D well backstripping across the study area confirms three main tectonic stages, containing (i) the break‐up phase forming basement graben systems and the evolution of the Late Jurassic – Early Cretaceous ancient backarc Austral/Rocas Verdes Basin (RVB), (ii) the inversion of the backarc marginal basin and the development of the foreland Austral Basin and (iii) the recent foreland Austral Basin. Synrift sedimentation did not exceed the creation of accommodation space, leading to a deepening of the basin. During the Early Cretaceous a first impulse of compression due to Andes uplift caused rise also of parts of the basin. Controlling factors for the subsequent tectonic development are subduction, balanced phases of sedimentation, accumulation and erosion as well as enhanced sediment supply from the rising Andes. Further phases of rock uplift might be triggered by cancelling deflection of the plate and slab window subduction, coupled with volcanic activity. Calculations of sediment accumulation rates reflect the different regional tectonic stages, and also show that the Malvinas Basin acted as a sediment catchment after the filling of the Austral Basin since the Late Miocene. However, although the Austral and Malvinas Basin are neighbouring basin systems that are sedimentary coupled in younger times, their earlier sedimentary and tectonic development was decoupled by the Rio Chico basement high. Thereby, the Austral Basin was affected by tectonic impacts of the Andes orogenesis, while the Malvinas Basin was rather affected by the opening of the South Atlantic.     

Feasibility and cost of creating an iron-phosphate coating on pyrrhotite to prevent oxidation

 Acid mine drainage (AMD) occurs when sulfide minerals are exposed to an oxidizing environment. Most of the methods for preventing AMD are either short-term or high cost solutions. Coating with iron phosphate is a new technology for the abatement of AMD. It involves treating the sulfide with a coating solution composed of H₂O₂, KH₂PO₄, and sodium acetate as a buffer agent. The H₂O₂ oxidizes the sulfide surface and produces Fe³⁺ so that iron phosphate precipitates as a coating on the sulfide surface. Experiments performed under laboratory conditions prove that an iron phosphate coating can be established on pyrrhotite surfaces with optimal concentrations of the coating solution in the range of: 0.2M/0.01M H₂O₂, 0.2M KH₂PO₄, and 0.2M sodium acetate NaAc, depending on the experimental scale. Iron phosphate coating may be a long-term solution to the problem of AMD. The method would be easy to implement; the reagent cost, however, is not low enough, although it is lower than the conventional treatment with lime. Received: 30 March 1995 · Accepted: 6 September 1995     

Alkaline and ultramafic carbonate lamprophyres in Central Bohemian carboniferous basins,Czech Republic

Summary Dykes of alkaline and ultramafic carbonate lamprophyres (monchiquite-ouachitite and aillikite) intrude the Carboniferous sediments of Central Bohemia. Their characteristic feature is the presence of substantial amounts of a sodalite group mineral (presumably haüyne), carbonate and barite. Isotopic compositions of ¹³C (–3.4 to –6.2) and ¹⁸O ( + 13.5 to + 15.9) indicate that the carbonate is of primary magmatic origin and that fluids were formed at temperatures of 500 to 350°C. High contents of CO₂ (3.6 to 17.6 wt.%) and incompatible elements, high LREE/HREE ratios (30.0 to 57.7), and low Rb/Sr (0.025 to 0.078) and⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr (0.7038 to 0.7042) ratios suggest the ultramafic lamprophyres are related to deep-seated carbonated magmas of mantle origin. Low degree of partial melting ( < 1%) of the mantle peridotite is envisaged, with additional transport of fluids rich in incompatible elements into the crustal chamber. Alkaline lamprophyres are fractionated derivatives which originated from the same source. Magma intrusion from different levels of a magma chamber into fracture zones under horizontal tension without a central intrusion could result in variability in lamprophyre composition (cumulates or evolved derivatives).

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Alkalische und ultramafische Karbonat-Lamprophyre der zentralen böhmischen Karbonbecken, Tschische Republik

Zusammenfassung Alkalische und ultramafische Karbonat-Lamprophyrgänge (Monchiquit-Ouachitit und Aillikit) intrudieren in karbonische Sedimente Zentralböhmens. Sie sind charakterisiert durch das Auftreten von beträchtlichen Mengen an Mineralen der Sodalith-Gruppe (v.a. Haüyn), Karbonaten und Baryt. Ihre Isotopenzusammensetzung von ¹³C (–3.4 bis –6.2) und ¹⁸O (13.5 bis 15.9) zeigt, daß die Karbonate primär magmatischen Ursprungs sind und daß assoziierte Fluide in einem Temperaturbereich von 350 bis 500°C gebildet wurden. Hohe Gehalte an CO₂ (3.6 bis 17.6 Gew. %), inkompatiblen Elementen, hohe LREE/HREE-Verhältnisse (30.0 bis 57.7), sowie niedrige Rb/Sr—(0.025 bis 0.078) und⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr-(0.7038 bis 0.7042) Verhältnisse lassen vermuten, daß die ultramafischen Lamprophyre mit karbonatischen Magmen des Mantels in Beziehung stehen. Eine niedrige Aufschmelzungsrate ( < 1%) von Mantelperidotit mit zusätzlichem Transport von, an inkompatiblen Elementen angereicherten Fluiden, in die krustale Magmenkammer wird diskutiert. Alkalische Lamprophyre sind als stärker fraktionierte Magmen, die derselben Quelle entstammen, zu verstehen. Die Intrusion der aus verschiedenen Bereichen der Magmenkammer stammenden Magmen in durch horizontale Dehnung verursachte Störungszonen könnte das Fehlen eines zentralen Intrusionskörpers und die unterschiedliche Zusammensetzung der Lamprophyre (Kumulate oder entwickelte Derivate) erklären.

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With 8 Figures