Environmental impact of ancient small-scale mercury ore processing at Pšenk on soil (Idrija area, Slovenia)

The Idrija mine was the second largest Hg mine in the world surpassed only by the Almaden mine in Spain. It has been estimated that almost 145,000 tons of Hg was produced during operation (1490-1995) of the mine. In the first decade of Hg mining in Idrija the ore was roasted in piles; after that it was roasted for 150 years, until 1652, in earthen vessels at various sites in the woods around Idrija. Pšenk is one out of 21 localities of ancient roasting sites established on the hills surrounding Idrija and one of the largest localities of roasting vessel fragments. The unique way of roasting very rich Hg ore at this site has resulted in soil contamination and considerable amounts of waste material that potentially leach Hg into the surrounding environment. The main aim of this study was to determine the distribution and the forms of Hg in contaminated soils in order to evaluate potential environmental risk. Detailed soil sampling was performed on 37,800 m² area to establish the extent of Hg pollution and to investigate Hg transformations and transport characteristics through the 400 a-long period. A total of 156 soil (0-15 cm and 15-30 cm) and SOM (soil organic matter) samples were collected from 73 sampling points. Three soil profiles were sampled to determine vertical distribution of Hg. The main Hg phases were determined by the Hg-thermo-desorption technique. The measured Hg contents in soil samples in the study area vary from 5.5 to almost 9000 mg/kg with a median of 200 mg/kg. In SOM, Hg contents range from 1.4 to 4200 mg/kg with a median of 20 mg/kg. Extremely high Hg contents were found in soil profiles where the metal reaches 37,020 mg/kg. In general, Hg concentrations in all three profiles show a gradual decrease with depth with the minimum values between 140 mg/kg and 1080 mg/kg. The Hg-thermo-desorption curves indicate the presence of Hg in the form of cinnabar and that of Hg bound to organic or mineral soil matter. The distribution of Hg species in soil and SOM samples show almost equal distribution of cinnabar and non-cinnabar Hg compounds. The non-cinnabar fraction shows a little increase with depth, but cinnabar represents a high portion of total Hg (about 40%). Large amounts of potentially mobile and transformable non-cinnabar Hg compounds exist at the roasting site, which are potentially bioavailable.     

Upscaling of Land-Surface Parameters Through Inverse Stochastic SVAT-Modelling

A novel approach for upscaling land-surface parameters based on inverse stochastic surface-vegetation-atmosphere transfer (SVAT) modelling is presented. It allows estimation of effective parameters that yield scale invariant outputs e.g. for sensible and latent heat fluxes and evaporative fraction. The general methodology is used to estimate effective parameters for the Oregon State University Land-Surface Model, including surface albedo, surface emissivity, roughness length, minimum stomatal resistance, leaf area index, vapour pressure deficit factor, solar insolation factor and the Clapp–Hornberger soil parameter. Upscaling laws were developed that map the mean and standard deviation of the distributed land-surface parameters at the subgrid scale to their corresponding effective parameter at the grid scale. Both linear and bi-parabolic upscaling laws were obtained for the roughness length. The bi-parabolic upscaling law fitted best for the remaining land-surface parameters, except surface albedo and emissivity, which were best fitted with linear upscaling laws.     

High-Latitude Springtime Photochemistry. Part I: NOx, PAN and Ozone Relationships

Springtime measurements of NO_x, ozone, PAN,J(NO₂), and other compounds were made near Ny-Ålesund,Svalbard (78°54N, 11°53E), in 1994 and Poker Flat,Alaska (65°08N, 147°29W), in 1995. At Svalbard medianmixing ratios for PAN and NO_x of 237 and 23.7 pptv,respectively, were observed. The median mixing ratios at Poker Flat for PANand NO_x were 79.5 and 85.9 pptv, respectively. These data areused to estimate thermal PAN decomposition using several differentapproaches. At Svalbard PAN decomposition was very small, while at PokerFlat up to 30 pptv/h PAN decomposed. At both sites the NO_x/PANratio increased with temperature between –10 and 20°C implyingthat PAN decomposition is an important NO_x source. In-situozone production was calculated from the measured NO, NO₂,O₃, J(NO₂), and temperature data, using thesteady state assumption Median ozone production was 605 pptv/h at PokerFlat, and one order of magnitude smaller at Svalbard during the daytime.Only at Poker Flat could a direct influence on the diurnal ozone cycle beobserved from in-situ production. These results imply that PAN decompositionis a major source of NO_x in the high latitude troposphere, andthat this contributes to the observed spring maximum in surface ozone.     

Banded structure of drifting macroalgae

A massive bloom of macroalgae occurred in the western Yellow Sea at the end of May, 2008, and lasted for nearly 2 months. The surface-drifting macroalgae was observed to accumulate in a pattern dominated by linear bands. The maximum length of individual algal bands exceeded 10 km and the distance between neighboring bands ranged from hundreds of meters to 6 km. Seven satellite images were analyzed to determine the distances between neighboring bands. Proportions of about 24%, 38%, and 22% are responsible for the separation distances smaller than 1 km, between 1 and 2 km, and between 2 and 3 km, respectively. The separation of about five percent of the bands exceeds 4 km. The probability distribution of the separation distance is quite close to log-normal which is that found in Langmuir circulation. However, the observed algal band separation greatly exceeds the distances between convergence lines reported in Langmuir circulation.     

贵州瓮安陡山沱组剖面碳同位素生物地球化学研究

在对扬子地台贵州瓮安陡山沱组剖面干酪根碳同住素组成进行分析后发现其变化显示了一定的规律性。碳同住素规律变化反映了最初的沉积信息,特别是有机质埋藏量的变化。获得的陡山沱期沉积岩中碳同位素组成研究结果初步反映了震旦一寒武交变期沉积环境的面貌;碳同位素组成变化规律可以用于反映扬子地台沉积层序和世界同期地层全球碳循环的对比和参考。为扬子区陡山沱期环境变化和生物演化提供了证据。δ^13Cker值在-32．3‰和-24．5‰(PDB)间漂移与δ^13Ccarb值在-4．9‰和3．6‰(PDB)间的变化,反映了当时海水的碳同位素组成。无机和有机碳同位素组成之差的△δorg-carb值沿剖面不断变化,是由于沉积有机质中有促进发酵功能的细菌数量比例变化所致。     

纤磷钙铝石类化合物:来自地球具工艺用途的材料(英文)

纤磷钙铝石类化合物系由自纤磷钙铝石CaAl3 (OH) 6(HPO4) (PO4)本身、经磷钙铝石CaAl3 (OH) 6(SO4) (PO4)到钾明矾石KAl3 (OH ) 6(SO4) 2 等的天然矿物族所组成的。它们表现出具有很大范围的阳离子置换系列 ,其中以Sr2 +和Ba2 +置换Ca2 +,REEs3 +置换Ca2 +和H+,As5 +置换P5 +,S6+/Se6+置换H+P5 +最为重要。随着置换的进行 ,其热动力学稳定性也逐渐增加。由此 ,纤磷钙铝石类化合物成为很能抗风化的矿物 ,在红土中尤其如此。厚的纤磷钙铝石层形成在闪长岩 (富Sr) ,碳酸盐岩 (富REEs)和含金石英脉 (富As)之上 ,从而保护整个磷酸盐红土 ,使之免受风化。以此方式 ,形成了桌状山脉或岛屿 ,他们具有未受覆盖的表面。这些“纤磷钙铝”石化合物为上述及其它元素形成一有效的地球化学障。“纤磷钙铝石”的这种天然地球化学固定作用可以用适当的母体或人工合成晶体来进行模拟 ,即通过金属阳离子交换或就地反应来模拟。这种固定作用还可用于处理天然和人造的放射性裂变产物、有毒的重金属元素、砷酸盐和硒酸盐、硫酸盐等。     

晚震旦世至早寒武世扬子地台北缘碳同位素研究

震旦-寒武交变期是地史上一个重大转折期,亦是一个具有特殊意义的过渡时期。运用碳同位素地球化学方法,探讨扬子地台北缘四川南江地区晚震旦世-早寒武世交变期,碳同位素地球化学异常与环境变化和生物演化的相互联系。南江剖面沉积岩有机碳同位素组成在-35．8‰～-30．1‰间变化;碳酸盐碳同位素组成从-3．5‰～ 0．5‰。在灯影组顶部、牛蹄塘组下部和上部,变化的碳、硫同位素组成和不同的黄铁矿与有机碳含量反映了有机碳埋藏量和环境的变化。下寒武统富有机碳和黄铁矿的黑色页岩沉积,暗示了早寒武世早期缺氧环境的存在。     

Scientific detector workshop 2022 on-sky performance verification of near-infrared e−APD technology for wavefront sensing and demonstration of e−APD pixel performance to improve the sensitivity of large science focal planes

Near-infrared adaptive optics as well as fringe tracking for coherent beam combination in optical interferometry require the development of high-speed sensors. Because of the high speed, a large analog bandwidth is required. The short exposure times result in small signal levels which require noiseless detection. Both requirements cannot be met by state-of-the-art conventional CMOS technology of near-infrared arrays as has been attempted previously. A total of five near-infrared SAPHIRA 320 × 256 pixel HgCdTe e⁻APD arrays have been deployed in the wavefront sensors and in the fringe tracker of the VLTI instrument GRAVITY. The current limiting magnitude for coherent exposures with GRAVITY is m_k = 19, which is made possible with ADP technology. New avalanche photo-diode array (APD) developments since GRAVITY include the extension of the spectral sensitivity to the wavelength range from 0.8 to 2.5 μm. After GRAVITY a larger format array with 512 × 512 pixels has been developed for both AO applications at the ELT and for long integration times. Since dark currents of <10⁻³ e⁻/s have been demonstrated with 1Kx1K e⁻APD arrays and 2Kx2K e⁻APD arrays have already been developed, the possibilities and adaptations of e⁻APD technology to provide noiseless large-format science-grade arrays for long integration times are also discussed.