Copper(II) humate mobility in kaolinite soil

An investigation of the influence of humate on the mobility of copper(II) ions in a kaolinite soil using leaching tests and electrokinetic experiments is reported. The data are interpreted in terms of humate–copper–clay interactions and humate electrical charge. Humate is mostly immobile below pH8 but is more mobile in alkaline conditions (sorption to kaolinite reduces its mobility in neutral conditions). Copper humate complexes are mobile in both acidic and alkaline conditions, but not in neutral conditions where they are sorbed. The dissolved copper humate complexes that form in acidic conditions are positively charged. The net effect of humate is to increase cupric ion mobility in kaolinite soil, especially in alkaline conditions.     

A new semi-quantitative Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) method for detection of maleimide (2,5-pyrroledione) with potential application to astrobiology

Nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compounds are fundamental biochemical components of all life on Earth and, presumably, life elsewhere in our solar system. Dete...     

Measures of Parameter Uncertainty in Geostatistical Estimation and Geostatistical Optimal Design

Studies of site exploration, data assimilation, or geostatistical inversion measure parameter uncertainty in order to assess the optimality of a suggested scheme. This study reviews and discusses measures for parameter uncertainty in spatial estimation. Most measures originate from alphabetic criteria in optimal design and were transferred to geostatistical estimation. Further rather intuitive measures can be found in the geostatistical literature, and some new measures will be suggested in this study. It is shown how these measures relate to the optimality alphabet and to relative entropy. Issues of physical and statistical significance are addressed whenever they arise. Computational feasibility and efficient ways to evaluate the above measures are discussed in this paper, and an illustrative synthetic case study is provided. A major conclusion is that the mean estimation variance and the averaged conditional integral scale are a powerful duo for characterizing conditional parameter uncertainty, with direct correspondence to the well-understood optimality alphabet. This study is based on cokriging generalized to uncertain mean and trends because it is the most general representative of linear spatial estimation within the Bayesian framework. Generalization to kriging and quasi-linear schemes is straightforward. Options for application to non-Gaussian and non-linear problems are discussed.     

Penetrative convection in rotating fluids: A model for the base of stellar convection zones

Abstract

To model penetrative convection at the base of a stellar convection zone we consider two plane parallel, co-rotating Boussinesq layers coupled at their fluid interface. The system is such that the upper layer is unstable to convection while the lower is stable. Following the method of Kondo and Unno (1982, 1983) we calculate critical Rayleigh numbers R_c for a wide class of parameters. Here, R_c is typically much less than in the case of a single layer, although the scaling R_c～T^2/3 as T → ∞ still holds, where T is the usual Taylor number. With parameters relevant to the Sun the helicity profile is discontinuous at the interface, and dominated by a large peak in a thin boundary layer beneath the convecting region. In reality the distribution is continuous, but the sharp transition associated with a rapid decline in the effective viscosity in the overshoot region is approximated by a discontinuity here. This source of helicity and its relation to an alpha effect in a mean-field dynamo is especially relevant since it is a generally held view that the overshoot region is the location of magnetic field generation in the Sun.     

Formation Mechanism of Mud Bank Along the Southwest Coast of India

Mud bank formation during the southwest monsoon along the southwest coast of India remains an enigma to the researchers and coastal community in spite of several earlier studies. The present study attempts to unravel the mystery through a high-frequency, season-long time-series observation at Alappuzha, located at the southern part of the west coast of India, a region of frequent occurrence of mud bank. Using 7-month-long weekly time-series observation, we identified strong winds and high waves associated with onset of the southwest monsoon and subsequent three episodic atmospheric low-pressure events (LPEs).With the help of in situ time-series data, we show that the strong winds and high waves associated with southwest monsoon pre-conditions the near shore bottom sediment to bring it into suspension. The high amplitude waves associated with the southwest monsoon, while propagating from the deep water to shallow water region, interact with the bottom initiating bottom-sediment movement and its suspension due to wave refraction and shoaling. The sporadic occurrence of the atmospheric LPEs enhances the process of suspension of bottom sediment in the near shore region leading to the formation of fluid mud. Simulations with a cohesive sediment transport model yielded realistic estimates of sediment transport, in the presence of an onshore current, a pre-requisite for transporting the fluid mud toward the coast. The prevailing onshore upwelling current during the southwest monsoon provides the favorable pre-requisite conditions for transporting the fluid mud through depression channel network towards the coast. Once sufficient quantity and thickness of fluid mud is accumulated in the near shore region, it acts as a wave damper for subsequent high monsoon waves, as indicated by the time-series wave data, leading to the formation of tranquil mud bank region. Depression channel networks extending from the shelf to the coast off Alappuzha, Kochi, Ponnani, Beypore, and Ullal were found in the bathymetric charts, thus explaining why mud banks occur only at few locations in spite of the prevalence of similar monsoon conditions.     

Possible representation for discovery observations of stellar flares

It is shown that the chronology of flare star discoveries in the Pleiades cluster and the Orion association can be described satisfactorily by various distribution functions (gamma, binomial, decreasing exponential, and delta) for the mean frequencies of stellar flares. However, it has been found that this is due to the uncertainty in the observationally derived distribution function for the mean frequency of stellar flares. The most likely function is that derived by Ambartsumian, which has a physical basis.Translated fromAstrofizika, Vol. 38, No. 1, pp. 25–32, January–March, 1995.     

Microfossils from the Lower Kundelungu (Late Precambrian) of Zambia

Lower Kundelungu black argillites and silty dolomicrites from the Ndola area contain a rich microfossil assemblage, of which several forms can be attributed to the form-genus Fibularix Pflug, 1965. The same assemblage has also been found in fine-grained, mildly metamorphosed sedimentary rocks from Kalengwa and Karibarembi (North-Western Province). These findings support the Kundelungu correlation of the Kalengwa and Karibarembi successions.Three new species of Fibularix are described and illustrated. Seven types of sphaeromorphs are described and illustrated, though treated informally. Some sphaeromorphs are detached parts of Fibularix chains.The Lower Kundelungu microfossils resemble very closely some palynomorphs that occur in the Brioverian (Late Precambrian) of France, in the Libby Formation (Belt) of the northwestern United States, and in other formations of Late Precambrian age.     

Hanford tank residual waste – Contaminant source terms and release models

Residual waste is expected to be left in 177 underground storage tanks after closure at the US Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington State, USA. In the long term, the residual wastes may represent a potential source of contamination to the subsurface environment. Residual materials that cannot be completely removed during the tank closure process are being studied to identify and characterize the solid phases and estimate the release of contaminants from these solids to water that might enter the closed tanks in the future. As of the end of 2009, residual waste from five tanks has been evaluated. Residual wastes from adjacent tanks C-202 and C-203 have high U concentrations of 24 and 59 wt.%, respectively, while residual wastes from nearby tanks C-103 and C-106 have low U concentrations of 0.4 and 0.03 wt.%, respectively. Aluminum concentrations are high (8.2–29.1 wt.%) in some tanks (C-103, C-106, and S-112) and relatively low (<1.5 wt.%) in other tanks (C-202 and C-203). Gibbsite is a common mineral in tanks with high Al concentrations, while non-crystalline U–Na–C–O–P ± H phases are common in the U-rich residual wastes from tanks C-202 and C-203. Iron oxides/hydroxides have been identified in all residual waste samples studied to date. Contaminant release from the residual wastes was studied by conducting batch leach tests using distilled deionized water, a Ca(OH)₂-saturated solution, or a CaCO₃-saturated water. Uranium release concentrations are highly dependent on waste and leachant compositions with dissolved U concentrations one or two orders of magnitude higher in the tests with high U residual wastes, and also higher when leached with the CaCO₃-saturated solution than with the Ca(OH)₂-saturated solution. Technetium leachability is not as strongly dependent on the concentration of Tc in the waste, and it appears to be slightly more leachable by the Ca(OH)₂-saturated solution than by the CaCO₃-saturated solution. In general, Tc is much less leachable (<10 wt.% of the available mass in the waste) than previously predicted. This may be due to the coprecipitation of trace concentrations of Tc in relatively insoluble phases such as Fe oxide/hydroxide solids.