Feasibility of utilizing wavelet phase to map the CO2 plume at the Ketzin pilot site,Germany

Spectral decomposition is a powerful tool that can provide geological details dependent upon discrete frequencies. Complex spectral decomposition using inversion strategies differs from conventional spectral decomposition methods in that it produces not only frequency information but also wavelet phase information. This method was applied to a time‐lapse three‐dimensional seismic dataset in order to test the feasibility of using wavelet phase changes to detect and map injected carbon dioxide within the reservoir at the Ketzin carbon dioxide storage site, Germany. Simplified zero‐offset forward modelling was used to help verify the effectiveness of this technique and to better understand the wavelet phase response from the highly heterogeneous storage reservoir and carbon dioxide plume. Ambient noise and signal‐to‐noise ratios were calculated from the raw data to determine the extracted wavelet phase. Strong noise caused by rainfall and the assumed spatial distribution of sandstone channels in the reservoir could be correlated with phase anomalies. Qualitative and quantitative results indicate that the wavelet phase extracted by the complex spectral decomposition technique has great potential as a practical and feasible tool for carbon dioxide detection at the Ketzin pilot site.     

Chemical characteristics of PM<Subscript>10</Subscript> aerosols and airmass trajectories over Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea during ICARB

For the first time, chemical characterization of PM₁₀ aerosols was attempted over the Bay of Bengal (BoB) and Arabian Sea (AS) during the ICARB campaign. Dominance of SO ₄ ^2? , NH ₄ ⁺ and NO ₃ ^? was noticed over both the regions which indicated the presence of ammonium sulphate and ammonium nitrate as major water soluble particles playing a very important role in the radiation budget. It was observed that all the chemical constituents had higher concentrations over Bay of Bengal as compared to Arabian Sea. Higher concentrations were observed near the Indian coast showing influence of landmass indicating that gaseous pollutants like SO₂, NH₃ and NO _x are transported over to the sea regions which consequently contribute to higher SO ₄ ^2? , NH ₄ ⁺ and NO ₃ ^? aerosols respectively. The most polluted region over BoB was 13°?19°N and 70°?90°E while it was near 11°N and 75°E over AS. Although the concentrations were higher over Bay of Bengal for all the chemical constituents of PM₁₀ aerosols, per cent non-sea salt (nss) fraction (with respect to Na) was higher over Arabian Sea. Very low Ca2+ concentration was observed at Arabian Sea which led to higher atmospheric acidity as compared to BoB. Nss SO ₄ ^2? alone contributed 48% of total water soluble fraction over BoB as well as AS. Ratios SO ₄ ^2? /NO _? ³ over both the regions (7.8 and 9 over BoB and AS respectively) were very high as compared to reported values at land sites like Allahabad (0.63) and Kanpur (0.66) which may be due to very low NO.3 over sea regions as compared to land sites. Air trajectory analysis showed four classes: (i) airmass passing through Indian land, (ii) from oceanic region, (iii) northern Arabian Sea and Middle East and (iv) African continent. The highest nss SO ₄ ^2? was observed during airmasses coming from the Indian land side while lowest concentrations were observed when the air was coming from oceanic regions. Moderate concentrations of nss SO2. 4 were observed when air was seen moving from the Middle East and African continent. The pH of rainwater was observed to be in the range of 5.9–6.5 which is lower than the values reported over land sites. Similar feature was reported over the Indian Ocean during INDOEX indicating that marine atmosphere had more free acidity than land atmosphere.     

Analysis of Y-component of Geomagnetic Field and SYM-H Index Using Wavelet Multiresolution Analysis

Geomagnetism and Aeronomy - Electrodynamical coupling between the solar wind’s plasma and the Earth’s magnetosphere creates geomagnetic disturbances recorded on the ground. This work...     

Festkontaktierte potentiometrische Elektroden für Sulfatbestimmungen in wässrigen Lösungen

Solid‐contacted Potentiometric Electrodes for Measurements of Sulfate Ions in Aqueous Solutions A solid‐contact electrode for potentiometric measurement of sulfate ions in aqueous solutions was developed and examined. The electrode is based on a PVC membrane which contains the ionophore 3‐decyl‐1,5,8‐triazacyclodecan‐2,4‐dione (DTADD). Instead of the usual inner fluid junction, a polypyrrole layer applied on the inner side of the PVC membrane was employed as inner solid contact. The performance of this electrode was compared to solid‐state sulfate‐selective electrodes with the ionophore α,α′‐bis(N′‐phenylthioureylene)‐m‐xylene (BTH) and to electrodes in the coated‐wire configuration. For the parameters sensitivity, selectivity, and long‐term stability, electrodes with the DTADD ionophore show improved properties. In the sulfate concentration range of 5·10^–5...10^–2 mol L^–1 the slope of the response is –(26.8 ± 0.5) mV/decade. The new solid contact sulfate electrodes showed a very low drift of the electrode potential within a period of 150 days when the electrode was stored in 10^–2 M Na₂SO₄. In Na2SO4 solutions of the pH range of 4...9 the electrode potentials were constant. The 95% response time was about 10 s when the sulfate concentration was changed from 10^–4 mol L^–1 to 10^–3 mol L^–1. The selectivity with DTADD ionophore relating to the nitrate ions is higher than the selectivity with BTH. Improvements are also made in comparison with sulfate‐selective electrodes described in the literature which contain other ionophores with fluid inner reference electrolytes.     

Permafrost occurrence during the Last Permafrost Maximum in the Western Carpathian Mountains of Slovakia as inferred from cryogenic cave carbonate

Coarse crystalline cryogenic cave carbonate (CCC) forms during the slow freezing of standing water pools and represents indirect proof of freezing temperature in the past. The dating by U‐series of CCC deposits from nine caves in the Western Carpathians Mountains of Slovakia suggests that freezing conditions, and possible permafrost conditions, occurred during the Last Permafrost Maximum (LPM, c. 20–18 ka BP). The CCC deposits occur in caves at elevations of between 800 and 1800 m a.s.l. They point to widespread alpine permafrost, the lower limit of discontinuous/sporadic permafrost being approximately 800 m a.s.l. The thickness of permafrost probably varied between 30 and 180 m. In the Vysoké Tatry Mountains at altitudes of ～1800 m a.s.l., one occurrence of CCC suggests that subzero temperatures may have penetrated to a depth of over 285 m.     

Petrogenesis of ungrouped enstatite meteorite Zakłodzie: Fabric,texture, and nanostructure analysis for identification of mechanisms responsible for chondrite–achondrite transition

Zak?odzie is an enstatite meteorite of unknown petrogenesis. Chemically, it resembles enstatite chondrites, but displays an achondrite‐like texture. Here we report on fabric and texture analyses of Zak?odzie utilizing X‐ray computed tomography and scanning electron microscopy and combine it with a nanostructural study of striated pyroxene by transmission electron microscopy. With this approach we identify mechanisms that led to formation of the texture and address the petrogenesis of the rock. Zak?odzie experienced a shock event in its early evolution while located at some depth inside a warm parent body. Shock‐related strain inverted pyroxene to the observed mixture of intercalated orthorhombic and monoclinic polymorphs. The heat that dissipated after the peak shock was added to primary, radiogenic‐derived heat and led to a prolonged thermal event. This caused local, equilibrium‐based partial melting of plagioclase and metal‐sulfide. Partial melting was followed by two‐stage cooling. The first phase of annealing (above 500 °C) allowed for crystallization of plagioclase and for textural equilibration of metal and sulfides with silicates. Below 500 °C, cooling was faster and more heterogeneous at cm scale, allowing retention of keilite and quenching of K‐rich feldspathic glass in some parts. Our study indicates that Zak?odzie is neither an impact melt rock nor a primitive achondrite, as suggested in former studies. An impact melt origin is excluded because enstatite in Zak?odzie was never completely melted and partial melting occurred during equilibrium‐based postshock conditions. Texturally, the rock represents a transition of chondrite and achondrite and was formed when early impact heat was added to internal radiogenic heat.     

Optical absorption of electronic Fe–Ti charge-transfer transition in natural andalusite: the thermal stability of the charge-transfer band

Differently colored natural Brazilian andalusite crystals heat-treated under reducing and oxidizing conditions were analyzed by optical spectroscopy. The intensity of a broad intense band at around 20,500 cm⁻¹ in the optical absorption spectra of all color zones of the sample is proportional to the product of Ti- and Fe-concentrations and herewith proves its attribution to electronic Fe²⁺/Ti⁴⁺ IVCT transition. The band is strictly E||c-polarized, causing an intense red coloration of the samples in this polarization. The polarization of the Fe²⁺/Ti⁴⁺ IVCT band in andalusite, E||c, shows that the electronic charge-transfer process takes place in Al–O octahedral groups that share edges with neighbors on either side, forming chains parallel to the c-axis of the andalusite structure. Under thermal treatments in air, the first noticeable change is some intensification of the band at 800°C. However, at higher temperatures its intensity decreases until it vanishes at 1,000°C in lightly colored zones and 1,100°C in darkly colored ones. Under annealing in reducing conditions at 700 and 800°C, the band also slightly increases and maintains its intensity at treatments at higher temperatures up to 1,000°C. These results demonstrate that weakening and disappearance of the Fe²⁺/Ti⁴⁺ IVCT band in spectra of andalusite under annealing in air is caused by oxidization of Fe²⁺ to Fe³⁺ in IVCT Fe²⁺/Ti⁴⁺-pairs. Some intensification of the band at 800°C is, most probably, due to thermally induced diffusion of Fe²⁺ and Ti⁴⁺ in the structure that leads to aggregation of “isolated” Ti⁴⁺ and Fe²⁺ ions into Fe²⁺–Ti⁴⁺-pairs. At higher temperatures, the competing process of Fe²⁺ → Fe³⁺ oxidation overcomes such “coupling” and the band continues to decrease. The different thermal stability of the band in lightly and darkly colored zones of the samples evidence some self-stabilization over an interaction of Fe²⁺/Ti⁴⁺-pairs involved in IVCT process.     

FTIR spectroscopic study of natural andalusite showing electronic Fe–Ti charge-transfer processes: zoning and thermal evolution of OH-vibration bands

We investigated a natural Brazilian Fe–Ti-containing andalusite and its thermal behavior by polarized infrared and optical spectroscopy. Polarized infrared spectra of the Brazilian andalusite and their evolution at thermal annealing in air clearly evidence that there are several types of OH-groups in the structure. Optical spectra and their evolution with temperature indicate that the incorporated iron (about 0.43 wt% calculated as FeO) is in the ferrous and ferric state. Incorporation of ferrous iron in the Al-sites of andalusite is discussed as a possible incorporation mechanism for hydrogen. The weakening and disappearance of the Fe²⁺/Ti⁴⁺ IVCT band in the andalusite spectra under annealing in air is caused by oxidization of Fe²⁺ to Fe³⁺ in Fe²⁺/Ti⁴⁺ IVCT pairs. The process of oxidation is accompanied by a rearrangement of the hydroxyl groups and dehydration of the sample, especially vivid at the final stage of the thermal annealing at 1,200 °C. During thermal annealing, structural hydroxyls of different types apparently transform into each other: the most distinct are the hydroxyls causing the doublet at 3,516 and 3,527 cm^?1 (i.e., H bonded to O1) which seem to transform into the hydroxyls causing the line at 3,461 cm^?1 (i.e., H bonded to O2). The infrared spectra scanned across differently colored zones of the crystal clearly show that some amount of hydroxyls is related to Fe²⁺/Ti⁴⁺ IVCT pairs which are the cause of the red-to-black coloration of the sample in E||c-polarized illumination: it is evident that in a part of the hydroxyl groups, OH-vector changes orientation aligning directly along crystallographic a-axis due to some kind of interaction with Fe²⁺/Ti⁴⁺ IVCT pairs.