Heavy-mineral variability in bottom sediments of the lower Chesapeake Bay,Virginia

Heavy minerals in bottom-sediment samples of the lower Chesapeake Bay show distribution patterns and interrelationships that denote characteristic mineral suites associated with defined geographic provinces. The Baymouth province has a garnet—hornblende—pyroxene suite, which is largely attributed to the influx of littoral and shelf sediments; the Eastern Shore province has a similar suite, derived largely from coastal erosion of the Eastern Shore peninsula. The Northern and Combined River provinces have a zircon—tourmaline—staurolite assemblage, which reflects derivation from an Appalachian Piedmont—Atlantic Coastal Plain sourceland. The Western Shore province is associated with a zircon—epidote—staurolite assemblage, apparently derived jointly from tributary influx and coastal erosion of the western shore. Factor analysis identified two major factors that account for 63% of the total variation in the relative amounts of the seven most common heavy minerals. The dominant factor (44%) is based on a zircon—hornblende—staurolite—pyroxene relationship, which indicates that mineral stability, as influenced by sediment maturity, is a major contributing factor. The second factor (19%) based on a tourmaline—epidote—staurolite—garnet relationship indicates that provenance is another major cause of heavy-mineral variability within the lower bay.     

Untersuchung der Sorptionseigenschaften des Kationenaustauschers KB-2M mit Makronetzstruktur zur Abtrennung von Zinkionen aus Ab- und Spülwässern

Study of Sorptional Properties of the Cation Exchanger KB-2M with Macroreticular Structure for Recovery of Zinc Ions from Sewage and Rinsing Water Although a number of ion-exchange methods have been employed for the recovery of some transition metals from industrial effluents, knowledge about ion-exchange resins with macroreticular structure is poor. The present paper describes the mechanism of sorption on such exchangers and their application for recovery of zinc from sewage rinsing water. Ion exchanger of macroreticular structure are polymers with long-chained cross-linking agents. We have synthesized carboxylic ion-exchange resins by hydrolysis of copolymerisates of methyl acrylate with different cross-linking agents: divinylbenzene, divinyl sulfide, divinyl ester of ethylene glycol and divinyl ester of di- or triethylene glycol. The sorption process on modifications of the carboxylic resins KB-2 of various structure was studied with different methods: potentiometric titration, infrared spectroscopy, electron microscopy, X-ray structural analysis. The initial zinc concentration in rinsing water was 0.05 mol/L at pH from 3 to 6. For the sorption, 0.2…1.0 g of resin were equilibrated with 100 mL of zinc solution. After equilibrium (12 h), the resin was separated from solution. The zinc ions were determined by atomic absorption spectrometry after stripping with 100 mL of 10% sulfuric acid. The distribution ratio D was calculated (D: mmole of Zn sorbed per gram of resin divided by mmole of Zn per millilitre of solution). By means of infrared spectroscopy, the mechanism of sorption of zinc ions from rinsing water was determined. There may be a possibility of the formation of complexes in the cation-exchange resin phase. It was found out in this paper that the cation-exchanger KB-2M of macroreticular structure is the most effective for the sorption of the Zn²⁺-ions from sewage and rinsing water.     

Activated release of alkalis during the vesiculation of molten basalts under high vacuum: implications for lunar volcanism

Knudsen cell-quadrupole mass spectrometry was used to study the high-temperature vaporization of Hawaiian basalts, plagioclase, tektites, and samples from the Allende meteorite. Procedures are described by which mass loss rates and vapor pressures of Na and K were measured quantitatively.Gas-rich glassy basalts were observed to vesiculate under vacuum over the 900–1000°C region and simultaneously evaporate alkalis in nonequilibrium fashion at rates (units of μg/g/hr) of approximately 200–300 Na and 75–250 K. Degassed residues of the same basalts demonstrated equilibrium evaporation rates (over the same temperature range) of 60–120 Na and 30–60 K. The gas-deficient plagioclase and tektite sample showed only equilibrium vaporization with rates of 60 Na, 10 K (plagioclase) and 10 Na, 5K (tektites) at 900–1000°C. The Allende meteorite vaporized at rates of 2400 Na and 200 K at 900–1000°C, possibly by the reaction of Na₂O and K₂O with C or S₂, or by the thermal decomposition of nepheline or sodalite.The nonequilibrium vaporization of alkalis from the gas-rich basalts is attributed to vigorous agitation of the melt during its vesiculation by a gas phase composed principally of SO₂, CO₂, H₂O, CO, and H₂S. The major gases released from the Allende meteorite at 900–1000°C are, in order of decreasing abundance, CO, S₂, CO₂, H₂O, SO₂, and H₂S.It is proposed that nonequilibrium vaporization of alkalis during the vesiculation of lunar lavas was responsible for the production of alkali-rich vapors which subsequently deposited plagioclase crystals in the vugs of lunar rocks. The vesiculative, nonequilibrium vaporization of Na and K during a lunar volcanic eruption should be expected to occur at a high rate upon initial extrusion of the lava into vacuum but then decrease by a factor of approximately three when degassing is nearing completion. Vaporization losses remain inadequate to explain the uniformly low alkali concentrations in lunar basalts.     

Climate and human health: synthesizing environmental complexity and uncertainty

Broad relationships between weather and human health have long been recognized, and there is currently a large body of research examining the impacts of climate change on human health. Much of the literature in this area examines climate–health relationships at global or regional levels, incorporating mostly generalized responses of pathogens and vectors to broad changes in climate. Far less research has been done to understand the direct and indirect climate-mediated processes involved at finer scales. Thus, some studies simplify the role of climate and may over- or under-estimate the potential response, while others have begun to highlight the subtle and complex role for climate that is contingent on other relevant processes occurring in natural and social environments. These fundamental processes need to be understood to determine the effects of past, current and future climate variation and change on human health. We summarize the principal climate variables and climate-dependent processes that are believed to impact human health across a representative set of diseases, along with key uncertainties in these relationships.     

On the theoretical evaluation of the hubble red-shift constant

Some modifications to the model of M17 proposed by Elliott and Meaburn (1975) are suggested.     

Sulfoarsenide complexes of gold in hydrothermal solutions in the formation of gold ore deposits (thermodynamic modeling)

The composition and conditions of the formation of gold sulfoarsenide complexes were studied by means of the solution of inverse problems of physicochemical modeling on the basis of the SELEKTOR software, with the computer analysis of the experimental data on Au dissolution in the presence of orpiment at 200–300°C and 1 kbar pressure. It was shown that sulfoarsenide complexes of gold formed in sulfurous-arsenious metalliferous hydrothermal solutions quantitatively prevailed in acidic and near-neutral solutions in the presence of As. The stability of the H₂AuAsS ₃ ⁰ sulfoarsenide complex and of its AuAsS ₂ ⁰ deprotonated analogue depends on the concentration of arsenic in the system, just as the ratio of sulfoarsenide and hydrosulfide complexes of gold. The productive metalliferous generations of sulfides in pyrite-arsenopyrite parageneses are deposited involving gold sulfoarsenides.     

The origin of chondrules: experimental investigation of metastable liquids in the system Mg2SiO4-SiO2

Laser-melted magnesium silicate droplets, supercooled 400–750°C below their equilibrium liquidus temperatures before crystallization, were examined to provide a comparison with meteoritic and lunar chondrules and to examine physicochemical parameters that may indicate the conditions of their formation. Internal textures of the spherules strikingly resemble textures observed in some chondrules. Definite trends in crystal morphology, crystal width and texture were established with respect to nucleation temperature and bulk composition. Such trends provide a framework for determining the nucleation temperature of chondrules. The only phase to nucleate from the supercooled forsterite-enstatite normative melts was forsterite, which was present in more-than-normative amounts. Highly siliceous glass (~65wt. % SiO₂) was identified interstitially to the forsterite crystals in seven of the spherules and is thought to be present in all. The presence of enstatite and the large proportion of crystals in some meteoritic chondrules implies that they were maintained at temperatures considerably in excess of 600°C at some point in their history.     

Extinguishing disaster in Alpine France: The fate of reforestation as technocratic debacle

In 19th-century France, concepts of alpine degradation formed the basis of ambitious state policies to reforest the Alps, Pyrenees, and Massif Central. Responding to the reality of large-scale flooding and to assumptions about the destructiveness of agro-pastoralism, both the Second-Empire and early Third-Republic regimes formulated legislation allowing for both voluntary and mandatory alpine reforestation projects. The latter regime's law of 1882 on the restoration and conservation of alpine lands was more conciliatory toward alpine agro-pastoralists; however, two case studies demonstrate that foresters attempted to overstep the limits of this more restrictive law. These actions conduced to rural protest which stymied the reforestation schemes. Although foresters could claim victory following the amended reforestation law of 1913, reduced budgets and a reduced forestry corps after World War One prevented its full implementation. Ultimately, geographers and some foresters revised scientific thinking about the history of deforestation, alpine ecology, and the place of humans in the mountains.