Geochemical evolution of uraniferous soda lakes in Eastern Mongolia

Extremely high concentrations of uranium (U) were discovered in shallow, groundwater-fed hyperalkaline soda lakes in Eastern Mongolia. A representative groundwater sample in this area is dilute and alkaline, pH = 7.9, with 10 mM TIC and 5 mM Cl⁻. In contrast, a representative lake water sample is pH ~ 10 with TIC and Cl⁻ each more than 1,000 mM. Groundwater concentrations of U range from 0.03 to 0.43 μM L⁻¹. Lake water U ranges from 0.24 to >62.5 μM, possibly the highest naturally occurring U concentrations ever reported in surface water. Strontium isotopes ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr varied in groundwaters from 0.706192 to 0.709776 and in lakes ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr varied from 0.708702 to 0.709432. High concentrations of U, Na, Cl⁻, and K correlate to radiogenic Sr in lake waters suggesting that U is sourced from local Cretaceous alkaline rhyolites. Uranium-rich groundwaters are concentrated by evaporation and U(VI) is chelated by CO₃⁻² to form the highly soluble UO₂(CO₃)₃⁻⁴. Modeled evaporation of lakes suggests that a U-mineral phase is likely to precipitate during evaporation.     

A regional response in mean westerly circulation and rainfall to projected climate warming over Tasmania, Australia

Coupled ocean–atmosphere general circulation models (GCMs) lack sufficient resolution to model the regional detail of changes to mean circulation and rainfall with projected climate warming. In this paper, changes in mean circulation and rainfall in GCMs are compared to those in a variable resolution regional climate model, the Conformal Cubic Atmospheric Model (CCAM), under a high greenhouse gas emissions scenario. The study site is Tasmania, Australia, which is positioned within the mid-latitude westerlies of the southern hemisphere. CCAM projects a different response in mean sea level pressure and mid-latitude westerly circulation to climate warming to the GCMs used as input, and shows greater regional detail of the boundaries between regions of increasing and decreasing rainfall. Changes in mean circulation dominate the mean rainfall response in western Tasmania, whereas changes to rainfall in the East Coast are less related to mean circulation changes. CCAM projects an amplification of the dominant westerly circulation over Tasmania and this amplifies the seasonal cycle of wet winters and dry summers in the west. There is a larger change in the strength than in the incidence of westerly circulation and rainfall events. We propose the regional climate model displays a more sensitive atmospheric response to the different rates of warming of land and sea than the GCMs as input. The regional variation in these results highlight the need for dynamical downscaling of coupled general circulation models to finely resolve the influence of mean circulation and boundaries between regions of projected increases and decreases in rainfall.     

Recent Experimental Results and Modelling of High-Mach-Number Jets and the Transition to Turbulence

In recent years, we have carried out experiments at the University of Rochester’s Omega laser in which supersonic, dense-plasma jets are formed by the interaction of strong shocks in a complex target assembly (Foster et al., Phys. Plasmas 9 (2002) 2251). We describe recent, significant extensions to this work, in which we consider scaling of the experiment, the transition to turbulence, and astrophysical analogues. In new work at the Omega laser, we are developing an experiment in which a jet is formed by laser ablation of a titanium foil mounted over a titanium washer with a central, cylindrical hole. Some of the resulting shocked titanium expands, cools, and accelerates through the vacuum region (the hole in the washer) and then enters a cylinder of low-density foam as a jet. We discuss the design of this new experiment and present preliminary experimental data and results of simulations using AWE hydrocodes. In each case, the high Reynolds number of the jet suggests that turbulence should develop, although this behaviour cannot be reliably modelled by present, resolution-limited simulations (because of their low-numerical Reynolds number).     

Geological Society of Africa

History and objectives,The ambitious and forward-looking decision to establish a pan-African geological society was taken during the course of a conference on African geology held in Ibadan, Nigeria in 1970. A Steering Committee was convened at that meeting under the Chairmanship of Professor Russell Black of the Department of Geology, Haile Selassie University, Addis Ababa, and the provisional constitution drafted by his Committee was approved at a second conference on African geology in Addis Ababa in 1973. Thus was the Geological Society of Africa (GSA.t) born. Its first President was Professor M O Owawoye (Nigeria) and Dr S M E1 Rabba (Sudan) became its first Secretary General.     

A behavior-based approach to adaptive feature detection andfollowing with autonomous underwater vehicles

This paper presents a technique for adaptively tracking bathymetric contours using an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) equipped with a single altimeter sonar. An adaptive feature mapping behavior is developed to address the problem of how to locate and track features of unknown extent in an environment where a priori information is unavailable. This behavior is implemented as part of the layered control architecture used by the AUV Odyssey II. The new adaptive feature mapping behavior builds on previous work in layered control by incorporating planning and mapping capabilities that allow the vehicle to alter its trajectory online in response to sensor data in order to track contour features. New waypoints are selected by evaluating the expected utility of visiting a given location balanced against the expected cost of traveling to a particular cell. The technique is developed assuming sensor input in the form of a single, narrow-beam altimeter sensor attached to a non-holonomic, dynamically controlled survey-class AUV such as the Odyssey II. Simulations of the Charles River basin which have been constructed from real bathymetry data are used as test missions. The 7-m contour line of a prominent trench in the river serves as the target feature. The adaptive contour following behavior tracks the contour despite navigation error and environmental disturbances, supplying the capability of autonomously detecting and following distinctive bathymetric features using a point sensor. This behavior provides a foundation for future research in tracking of dynamic features in the water-column and for concurrent mapping and localization over natural terrain using a point sensor     

Scour effects on the response of laterally loaded piles considering stress history of sand

Scour is the removal of soils around pile foundations of bridges or offshore platforms, resulting in reduced capacity of the foundations in either lateral or vertical direction. A common way to analyze the scour-affected pile foundations is to remove the scoured soil layers while keeping the properties of the remaining soil unchanged. However, this approach ignores the fact that the remaining soil experiences different stress histories before and after scour, which can be expected to change the properties of the remaining soil. As a result, the resistance of the remaining soil provided to the pile foundation may be different. The present study focused on the response of laterally loaded pile foundations in sand under scour considering the stress history of the remaining sand. Relative density and coefficient of lateral earth pressure of the sand were evaluated when it changed from a normally consolidated (NC) soil to an over-consolidated (OC) soil due to scour. The relative density was then used to estimate other properties of sand, e.g., unit weight, friction angle, and modulus of subgrade reaction of the sand based on their correlation. The lateral load–deflection (p–y) curve for a pile in sand was modified and input into the computer software, LPILE Plus V 5.0, to account for the effect of the stress history induced by scour. A field test was referenced as an example to compare the calculated results from the modified p–y curves with those from the initially developed p–y curves for the tested sand. The results showed that the change in the over-consolidation ratio (OCR) resulted in the most significant effect on the lateral soil resistance among all the effects due to the changes in the properties of the remaining sand. The sand changing from an NC to OC state increased the lateral soil resistance to the pile foundation. Ignoring the stress history would result in a conservative design of laterally loaded piles under scour.     

Adaptive frequency-domain beam forming and spectral analysis using small sparse arrays

An adaptive frequency-domain signal-processing technique for finding principal direction and spectral amplitude as a function of frequency without conventional beam forming is described mathematically. The technique, called Coherent Adaptive Processing Scheme (CAPS), is applicable to signals typical of many ocean science measurements. Results of successful CAPS analysis of shallow-water acoustic signals are presented. Potential real-time applications of CAPS to sensor systems are discussed. References to past applications to ocean waves are given.     

Observations of the Sediment-Water Interface: Marine and Fresh Water Environments

The sediment at the interface immediately beneath the water column is distinct from deeper-lying sediments in its properties and, at least quantitatively, in the processes driving diagenesis. Progress in understanding the sediment-water interface can be based on consideration of fundamentals of biogeochemical particle / fluid interactions and on application of certain biological techniques especially suited to this challenging portion of the sediment column. This article reports results achieved by combining theoretical fundamentals and specialized experimental techniques in the study of the interface from selected depositional environments. For fine-grained and sandy deposits from fresh-water to coastal marine environments, the interface is characterized by exaggerated microrelief, great porosity, and significant biological alteration. Additional application of this research approach is poised to further our understanding of engineering, and acoustic and xenochemical responses of sedimentary materials, with special emphasis on the influence of the bio-organic phase of the interface upon its fabric and physical properties.