Copper (II) Speciation in a Freshwater Ecosystem

Results of chemico-biological experiments in a natural water body with the use of model systems with Cu (II) introduced in them at different proportions of its chemical forms (natural and simulated) in the solution. The model forms used in the experiments were Cu complexes with benzyl- and hexadecylmalonic acids, simulating low-molecular dissolved organic substances. The experimental conditions were chosen based on a preliminary calculation using WATEQ–4f program. The complexes of Cu with hexadecylmalonic acid are found to be absorbed by suspensions and removed into bottom sediment more actively than other Cu forms. The toxicity of introduced Cu for the phyto- and zooplanktonic communities is found to depend on the concentration of Cu²⁺ aqua-ions in the solution, in the presence of which the higher concentrations of complexes with malonic acids do not exert their toxic effect.     

HVSR prospecting in multi-layered environments: An example from the Tyrnavos Basin (Greece)

The Tyrnavos Basin (Central Greece) is an E-W trending graben bordered by two major antithetic sets of right-stepping dip-slip normal faults that began forming during Middle Pleistocene as a consequence of the N-S extension which affected the whole Aegean Region. This Quaternary structure is superimposed on the Pliocene-Early Pleistocene NW-SE trending Larissa Basin, approximately 700–800 m deep. Seismic activity is instrumentally well documented within and surrounding the investigated area. Based on structural, morphotectonic and palaeoseismological data, several structures previously characterised as active faults have been investigated by applying the HVSR method. This method is commonly used to map the thickness of sedimentary layers in a basin based on the variation of the fundamental 1-D frequency. The polyphased structural evolution and the consequently complex geological setting do not allow for the contouring of a unique continuous surface. We therefore developed a new interpretation technique for statistically significant HVSR peaks, in order to obtain 2-D sections that can be interpreted in a seismic-like fashion. We applied this technique across the major active faults bordering the basin. The results confirm their occurrence at depth and document the important vertical component of displacement.     

On the Problem of Differential Payment for the Use of Different-Quality Surface Waters in Ukraine

The evolution of views and practical decisions regarding the problem of collecting payment for the use of surface waters with regard to their quality in the former USSR and present-day Ukraine is discussed. A simple and feasible method is proposed for differentitation of regional (basin) rates of payment for the use of surface water in Ukraine with allowance made for its quality assessed based on a system of environmental classifications.     

Δx≠Δy in 3D depth migration via McClellan transformations

An intuitive method is presented for extending Hale–McClellan migration operators to handle surveys binned and stacked with in‐line and cross‐line spacings unequal. This avoids re‐interpolating the input to 3D migration, either externally or internally. The algorithm does not require an integer or rational ratio between the in‐line and cross‐line spacings in order to be applied nor does it deliberately introduce artificial aliasing by interleaving subsampled grids along the more finely sampled axis. Examples of its impulse response and application to the SEG–EAGE salt model are shown.     

The use of GPR and VES in delineating a contamination plume in a landfill site: a case study in SE Brazil

This paper presents the results of the application of the Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) method, or Georadar, in outlining a zone of contamination due to solid residues at the waste burial site of Rio Claro in the state of São Paulo, SE Brazil. A total of eight GPR profiles with 50- and 100-MHz antennae were surveyed. Six profiles were located within the landfill site and the remaining two were outside. The main objective of the GPR survey was to evaluate the side extension of contamination. A Vertical Electric Sounding (VES) survey was performed at four points within the site in order to investigate the vertical extent of the contamination plume and to define the bottom of the landfill. Two additional VESs were done outside the landfill with the purpose of determining the top of the ground water table and the geoelectric stratigraphy of the background. From the interpretation of the GPR profiles, it was possible to locate the top of the contamination plume and to infer that it was migrating laterally beyond the limits of the waste disposal site. This was observed along the profile situated close to the highway SP-127, which was about 20 m from the limit of the site. The signature of the contaminant appears as a discontinuous reflector that is believed to be a shallow ground water table. The discontinuity is marked by a shadow zone, which is characteristic of conductive contaminant residues. The contamination did not move far enough to reach a sugar cane plantation located at approximately 100 m from the border of the site. In the regions free from contamination, the ground water table was mapped at approximately 10 m of depth, and it was characterized by a strong and continuous reflector. The radar signal penetrated deep enough and enabled the identification of a second reflector at approximately 14 m deep, interpreted as the contact between the Rio Claro and the Corumbataí formations. The contact is marked by the presence of gravel characterized by ferruginous concretes, which cause the strong amplitude reflection in the GPR profile. Within the landfill site, the quantitative interpretation of the VES results showed the contamination zone. The base of the landfill varies between 11 and 15 m deep. Outside the landfill site, the VES results showed no indication of contamination and allowed the determination of the top of the ground water table and the contact between the Rio Claro and the Corumbataí formations. The results of GPR and VES showed a good agreement and the integrated interpretations were supported by local geology and information from several boreholes, about 17 m depth, on average. The bottom of the landfill reaches a maximum of 14.5 m depth.     

Long-Term Variations in the Vertical Thermohaline Structure in Deep-Water Zones of the Caspian Sea

Long-term variability in water temperature and salinity in August has been determined for deep-water segments of standard profiles in the Central and Southern Caspian Sea based on data of on-board observations carried out in 1956–2000. Estimates of parameters of the vertical thermohaline structure of waters were obtained for four time intervals. These estimates have been compared to the variability in the main external factors governing the formation of thermohaline regime. Appreciable long-term variations in the vertical thermohaline structure of waters, caused by a nonperiodic alternation of two main types of hydrological processes in the Caspian Sea are revealed. Qualitative characteristics of these two types are presented.     

Magnetic domain structures and stray fields of individual elongated magnetite grains revealed by magnetic force microscopy (MFM)

In order to clarify the relationship between microscopic and macroscopic magnetic features of a rock, we applied magnetic force microscopy (MFM) as a local probe on a sample with an intense natural remanent magnetisation, a norite from Heskestad, Norway. We studied in detail seven magnetite (Fe₃O₄) exsolution lamellae, five of them were about 30 μm long and a few micrometers wide, two were significantly shorter; all were located in their natural host, a grain of clinopyroxene. By combining MFM images of surface magnetisation with information about shape observed with optical microscopy (OM), the internal domain structure was determined for individual grains. In general, the lamellae were pseudo-single-domain grains with open-flux domain magnetisations parallel to their long axes. The domain sizes were, in cross-section, on the order of a micrometer for the longer lamellae and about 300 nm for the short lamellae. By increasing the separation between the MFM probe and the exposed end of the lamellae, information could be obtained about the decrease in stray fields for the individual grains. Close to the lamellae, stray fields were significant even for grains with multiple domains. The largest fields were found above the largest domains. A separation of approximately one domain width was found to be a characteristic distance, where stray fields from adjacent domains begin to cancel one another.     

An update on the IEM surface backscattering model

The integral equation approach to modeling scattering from rough surfaces was introduced in 1992. At that time, it was noted that there was a need to find a transition reflection coefficient that could change its argument from the incident angle to the specular angle as frequency or roughness scale got large. One such reflection coefficient was published in 2001. In this letter, we would like to include this reflection coefficient in the integral equation model to interpret several multifrequency backscattering measurements from surfaces with surface parameters defined by the investigators who acquired the data.