Chameleon钻石与其相似黄色钻石光谱学特征的对比分析及颜色成因

Chameleon钻石（俗称“变色龙钻石”）是一种具有光致变色和热致变色现象的彩色钻石,在受热后或长时间在暗室中会由黄绿色变为黄色,在实际工作中发现与Chameleon钻石颜色相似的黄色钻石并不具有此类“变色”现象。为了研究Chameleon钻石与相似黄色钻石的差异,并进一步探究产生光致变色和热致变色现象的原因,本文选取Chameleon钻石和与其颜色相似的黄色钻石作为研究对象,进行加热实验,观察加热前后钻石颜色、紫外可见光吸收光谱的变化情况,探寻导致热致变色的原因,并对样品的红外吸收光谱及光致发光光谱特征进行详细分析与比较。结果表明：Chameleon钻石受热后由黄绿色变为黄色,在超短波紫外线下显示绿色荧光和磷光,相似黄色钻石样品无磷光及变色现象;所有样品均有从紫外光至510nm逐渐减弱的连续吸收和480nm吸收宽带,Chameleon钻石具650～800nm吸收宽带,相似黄色钻石无该吸收带,加热后吸收带消失是其产生热致变色的主要原因;进一步对样品的缺陷类型进行对比分析,Chameleon钻石红外光谱可见孤氮特征及与片晶无关的1430cm-1宽吸收带,该峰未在相似黄色钻石中出现,但产...     

Survival of endospores of Bacillus subtilis on spacecraft surfaces under simulated martian environments: implications for the forward contamination of Mars

Experiments were conducted in a Mars simulation chamber (MSC) to characterize the survival of endospores of Bacillus subtilis under high UV irradiation and simulated martian conditions. The MSC was used to create Mars surface environments in which pressure (8.5 mb), temperature (-80, -40, -10, or +23 degrees C), gas composition (Earth-normal N2/O2 mix, pure N2, pure CO2, or a Mars gas mix), and UV-VIS-NIR fluence rates (200-1200 nm) were maintained within tight limits. The Mars gas mix was composed of CO2 (95.3%), N2 (2.7%), Ar (1.7%), O2 (0.2%), and water vapor (0.03%). Experiments were conducted to measure the effects of pressure, gas composition, and temperature alone or in combination with Mars-normal UV-VIS-NIR light environments. Endospores of B. subtilis, were deposited on aluminum coupons as monolayers in which the average density applied to coupons was 2.47 x 10(6) bacteria per sample. Populations of B. subtilis placed on aluminum coupons and subjected to an Earth-normal temperature (23 degrees C), pressure (1013 mb), and gas mix (normal N2/O2 ratio) but illuminated with a Mars-normal UV-VIS-NIR spectrum were reduced by over 99.9% after 30 sec exposure to Mars-normal UV fluence rates. However, it required at least 15 min of Mars-normal UV exposure to reduce bacterial populations on aluminum coupons to non-recoverable levels. These results were duplicated when bacteria were exposed to Mars-normal environments of temperature (-10 degrees C), pressure (8.5 mb), gas composition (pure CO2), and UV fluence rates. In other experiments, results indicated that the gas composition of the atmosphere and the temperature of the bacterial monolayers at the time of Mars UV exposure had no effects on the survival of bacterial endospores. But Mars-normal pressures (8.5 mb) were found to reduce survival by approximately 20-35% compared to Earth-normal pressures (1013 mb). The primary implications of these results are (a) that greater than 99.9% of bacterial populations on sun-exposed surfaces of spacecraft are likely to be inactivated within a few tens of seconds to a few minutes on the surface of Mars, and (b) that within a single Mars day under clear-sky conditions bacterial populations on sun-exposed surfaces of spacecraft will be sterilized. Furthermore, these results suggest that the high UV fluence rates on the martian surface can be an important resource in minimizing the forward contamination of Mars.     

Extreme supersaturation of nitrous oxide in a poorly ventilated Antarctic lake

Lake Bonney, a permanently ice-covered Antarctic lake, has a middepth maximum N2O concentration of 41.6 micromoles N (>580,000% saturation with respect to the global average mixing ratio of N2O) in its east lobe, representing the highest level yet reported for a natural aquatic system. Atmospheric N2O over the lake was 45% above the global average, indicating that this lake is an atmospheric source of N2O. Apparent N2O production (ANP) was correlated with apparent oxygen utilization (AOU), and denitrification was not detectable, implying that nitrification is the primary source for this gas. The slope of a regression of ANP on AOU revealed that potential N2O production per unit of potential O2 consumed in the east lobe of Lake Bonney is at least two orders of magnitude greater than reported for the ocean. The maximum yield ratio for N2O [ANP/(NO2(-) + NO3-)] in Lake Bonney is 26% (i.e. 1 atom of N appears in N2O for every 3.9 atoms appearing in oxidized N), which exceeds previous reports for pelagic systems, being similar to values from reduced sediments. Areal N2O flux from the lake to the atmosphere is >200 times the areal flux reported for oceanic systems; most of this gas apparently enters the atmosphere through a small moat that occupies approximately 3% of the surface of the lake and exists for approximately 10 weeks in summer.     

A physical model of Titan's aerosols

Microphysical simulations of Titan's stratospheric haze show that aerosol microphysics is linked to organized dynamical processes. The detached haze layer may be a manifestation of 1 cm sec-1 vertical velocities at altitudes above 300 km. The hemispherical asymmetry in the visible albedo may be caused by 0.05 cm sec-1 vertical velocities at altitudes of 150 to 200 km, we predict contrast reversal beyond 0.6 micrometer. Tomasko and Smith's (1982, Icarus 51, 65-95) model, in which a layer of large particles above 220 km altitude is responsible for the high forward scattering observed by Rages and Pollack (1983, Icarus 55, 50-62), is a natural outcome of the detached haze layer being produced by rising motions if aerosol mass production occurs primarily below the detached haze layer. The aerosol's electrical charge is critical for the particle size and optical depth of the haze. The geometric albedo, particularly in the ultraviolet and near infrared, requires that the particle size be near 0.15 micrometer down to altitudes below 100 km, which is consistent with polarization observations (Tomasko and Smith 1982, West and Smith 1991, Icarus 90, 330-333). Above about 400 km and below about 150 km Yung et al.'s (1984, Astrophys. J. Suppl. Ser. 55, 465-506) diffusion coefficients are too small. Dynamical processes control the haze particles below about 150 km. The relatively large eddy diffusion coefficients in the lower stratosphere result in a vertically extensive region with nonuniform mixing ratios of condensable gases, so that most hydrocarbons may condense very near the tropopause rather than tens of kilometers above it. The optical depths of hydrocarbon clouds are probably less than one, requiring that abundant gases such as ethane condense on a subset of the haze particles to create relatively large, rapidly removed particles. The wavelength dependence of the optical radius is calculated for use in analyzing observations of the geometric albedo. The lower atmosphere and surface should be visible outside of regions of methane absorption in the near infrared. Limb scans at 2.0 micrometers wavelength should be possible down to about 75 km altitude.     

A model for the evolution of CO2 on Mars

We have constructed a model that predicts the evolution of CO2 on Mars from the end of the heavy bombardment period to the present. The model draws on published estimates of the main processes believed to affect the fate of CO2 during this period: chemical weathering, regolith uptake, polar cap formation, and atmospheric escape. Except for escape, the rate at which these processes act is controlled by surface temperatures which we calculate using a modified version of the Gierasch and Toon energy balance model (1973, J. Atmos. Sci. 30, 1502-1508). The modifications account for the change in solar luminosity with time, the greenhouse effect, and a polar and solar equatorial energy budget. Using published estimates for the main parameters, we find no evolutionary scenario in which CO2 is capable of producing a warm (global mean temperatures>250 K) and wet (surface pressures>30 mbar) early climate, and then evolves to present conditions with approximately 7 mbar in the atmosphere, <300 mbar in the regolith, and <5 mbar in the caps. Such scenarios would only exist if the early sun were brighter than standard solar models suggest, if greenhouse gases other than CO2 were present in the early atmosphere, or if the polar albedo were significantly lower than 0.75. However, these scenarios generally require the storage of large amounts of CO2 (>1 bar) in the carbonate reservoir. If the warm and wet early Mars constraint is relaxed, then we find best overall agreement with present day reservoirs for initial CO2 inventories of 0.5-1.0 bar. We also find that the polar caps can a profound effect on how the system evolves. If the initial amount of CO2 is less than some critical value, then there is not enough heating of the poles to prevent permanent caps from forming. Once formed, these caps control how the system evolves, because they set the surface pressure and, hence, the thermal environment. If the initial amount of CO2 is greater than this critical value, then caps do not form initially, but can form later on, when weathering and escape lower the surface pressure to a point at which polar heating is no longer sufficient to prevent cap formation and the collapse of the climate system. Our modeling suggests this critical initial amount of CO2 is between 1 and 2 bar, but its true value will depend on all factors affecting the polar heat budget.     

NAPL source zone depletion model and its application to railroad-tank-car spills

We developed a new semi-analytical source zone depletion model (SZDM) for multicomponent light nonaqueous phase liquids (LNAPLs) and incorporated this into an existing screening model for estimating cleanup times for chemical spills from railroad tank cars that previously considered only single-component LNAPLs. Results from the SZDM compare favorably to those from a three-dimensional numerical model, and from another semi-analytical model that does not consider source zone depletion. The model was used to evaluate groundwater contamination and cleanup times for four complex mixtures of concern in the railroad industry. Among the petroleum hydrocarbon mixtures considered, the cleanup time of diesel fuel was much longer than E95, gasoline, and crude oil. This is mainly due to the high fraction of low solubility components in diesel fuel. The results demonstrate that the updated screening model with the newly developed SZDM is computationally efficient, and provides valuable comparisons of cleanup times that can be used in assessing the health and financial risk associated with chemical mixture spills from railroad-tank-car accidents.