盐湖丰产元素与Zintl化合物(续完)

Zintl化合物是以Edward Zintl命名的化合物,是一类由电正性的碱金属或碱土金属与电负性的13族或14族元素形成的特殊金属间化合物。其价键模式可以是离子键、金属键和共价键共存,其中的准金属可以共价键的形式形成各种形式的离子簇,因而其结构复杂多样。这类化合物的部分阴离子簇不仅具有稳定的笼状、层状和链状结构,并且具有特殊的光、电、磁等性能,使得在半导体、催化、电极材料等方面都有应用的前景和发展潜力。介绍了几个特殊Zintl化合物体系,盐湖丰产元素在Zintl化合物中的作用,指出了含有盐湖丰产元素的Zintl化合物的应用前景和方向。     

Mineralogy,chemistry, and grain size composition of recent sediments in the northern Tyrrhenian Sea: Contribution to the study of sediment transport and distribution

As a contribution to an environmental study on Tuscany's marine shelf, textural, mineralogical, and chemical characteristics of recent sediments in the northern Tyrrhenian Sea between Elba Island and Livorno have been analyzed. The data provide clear information on sediment sources and movement patterns. The main sediment source appears to be the Cecina River; very subordinate is the contribution of the Fine River. As to sediment movement patterns, the surveyed basin appears to be divided into two subbasins: (1) a greater, southern subbasin, bounded by Tuscany mainland, Elba Island and Elba Ridge, and Capraia Isle, and Vada Shoals; and (2) a smaller, northern subbasin, enclosed between Vada Shoals and Meloria Shoals (off Livorno port).In the former the coarse-grade Cecina River sediments are transported southward along most of the mainland coast by littoral drift and coastal current; a northward flowing countercurrent seems to be active only in the southernmost part. Silts and clays are distributed in concentric belts around basin's central part, being transported mainly by slow circular water movements. In the marginal western zone, very little terrigenous influx is coupled with a high biologic productivity, and biogenic debris sedimentation prevails there.In the northern subbasin the sediment contribution from Fine River is more appreciable. Here the environmental energies are very low and the coarse sediments are restricted to a few small pocket beaches where they are deposited by local creeks. Most of the subbasin area is occupied by sapropelitic muds, again distributed by slow small-scale gyres.     

The Gambia River estuary: A reference point for estuarine fish assemblages studies in West Africa

The Gambia River is one of the last aquatic ecosystems in West Africa that has not yet been affected by strong environmental changes and human disturbances. In contrast to the neighbouring Casamance and Sine Saloum estuaries, the Gambia estuary is free of major climatic perturbation and remains a “normal” estuary, with a salinity range from freshwater to 39. The present paper aims to study the spatial and seasonal variability of fish assemblages in this estuary in terms of bio-ecological categories and of their relation with some environmental variables. Four surveys were conducted, from June 2001 to April 2002, in order to cover the major hydroclimatic events, at 44 sampling sites along the lower, intermediate and upper zones of the Gambia estuary (up to 220 km). Fish assemblages were sampled using a purse seine net, fish were identified to species level and environmental variables such as water depth, transparency, salinity, temperature and percentage oxygen saturation were measured. The main spatial structure of the fish assemblages and its seasonal changes were first studied using the STATIS-CoA multitable method. The combination of fish assemblages and environmental variables was then analysed using the STATICO method, designed for the simultaneous analysis of paired ecological tables. A total of 67 species were observed, belonging to all bio-ecological categories characterizing West African estuaries. The marine component of the community was largely dominant throughout the estuary, while the freshwater component was permanently observed only in the upstream zone. The main spatial structure was a longitudinal gradient contrasting marine and freshwater affinity assemblages, with strong seasonal variations. The most complete gradient was observed in December, at the beginning of the dry and cool season, while in June, at the end of the dry and warm season, there was the least structured gradient. The role of salinity, always correlated with temperature, was emphasized, while turbidity appeared to be another important factor. Oxygen and depth did not play a major role at the estuary scale. The relative importance of the bio-ecological categories varied according to the season and the distance to sea. Stable fish assemblages were observed in the lower zone at the end of the dry season, in the upper zone during the flood and in the middle zone throughout the year. In some situations, a relative inadequacy between fish assemblages and their environment was noticed. The present study contributes to the definition of the functioning of a “normal” West African estuary, the Gambia estuary, with balanced effects of marine and freshwater influences and the presence of all bio-ecological categories. The Gambia estuary can therefore be considered to be a reference ecosystem for further comparisons with other tropical estuarine ecosystems, subjected to natural or artificial perturbations.     

Heat flux apportionment to heterogeneous surfaces using flux footprint analysis

Heat flux data collected from the Baiyangdian Heterogeneous Field Experiment were analyzed using the footprint method. High resolution （25 m） Landsat-5 satellite imaging was used to determine the land cover as one of four surface types： farmland, lake, wetland, or village. Data from two observation sites in September 2005 were used. One site （Wangjiazhai） was characterized by highly heterogeneous surfaces in the central area of the Baiyangdian： lake/wetland. The other site （Xiongxian） was on land with more uniform surface cover. An improved Eulerian analytical flux footprint model was used to determine “source areas” of the heat fluxes measured at towers located at each site from surrounding landscapes of mixed surface types. In relative terms results show that wetland and lake areas generally contributed most to the observed heat flux at Wangjiazhai, while farmland contributed most at Xiongxian. Given the areal distribution of surface type contributions, calculations were made to obtain the magnitudes of the heat flux from lake, wetland and farmland to the total observed flux and apportioned contributions of each surface type to the sensible and latent heat fluxes. Results show that on average the sensible heat flux from wetland and farmland were comparable over the diurnal cycle, while the latent heat flux from farmland was somewhat larger by about 30-50 W m-2 during daytime. The latent and sensible fluxes from the lake source in daytime were about 50 W m-2 and 100 W m-2 less, respectively, than from wetland and farmland. The results are judged reasonable and serve to demonstrate the potential for flux apportionment over heterogeneous surfaces.     

Arsenic — a Review. Part II: Oxidation of Arsenic and its Removal in Water Treatment

In natural waters arsenic normally occurs in the oxidation states +III (arsenite) and +V (arsenate). The removal of As(III) is more difficult than the removal of As(V). Therefore, As(III) has to be oxidized to As(V) prior to its removal. The oxidation in the presence of air or pure oxygen is slow. The oxidation rate can be increased by ozone, chlorine, hypochlorite, chlorine dioxide, or H₂O₂. The oxidation of As(III) is also possible in the presence of manganese oxide coated sands or by advanced oxidation processes. Arsenic can be removed from waters by coprecipitation with Fe(OH)₃, MnO₂ or during water softening. Fixed‐bed filters have successfully been applied for the removal of arsenic.The effectiveness of arsenic removal was tested in the presence of adsorbents such as FeOOH, activated alumina, ferruginous manganese ore, granular activated carbon, or natural zeolites. Other removal technologies are anion exchange, electrocoagulation, and membrane filtration by ultrafiltration, nanofiltration or reverse osmosis.     

Arsenic — a Review. Part I: Occurrence,Toxicity, Speciation,Mobility

In natural waters arsenic concentrations up to a few milligrams per litre were measured. The natural content of arsenic found in soils varies between 0.01 mg/kg and a few hundred milligrams per kilogram. Anthropogenic sources of arsenic in the environment are the smelting of ores, the burning of coal, and the use of arsenic compounds in many products and production processes in the past. A lot of arsenic compounds are toxic and cause acute and chronic poisoning. In aqueous environment the inorganic arsenic species arsenite (As(III)) and arsenate (As(V)) are the most abundant species. The mobility of these species is influenced by the pH value, the redox potential, and the presence of adsorbents such as oxides and hydroxides of Fe(III), Al(III), Mn(III/IV), humic substances, and clay minerals.     

Hydrous olivine alteration on Mars and Earth

Hydrous alteration of olivine macrocrysts in a Martian olivine phyric basalt, NWA 10416, and a terrestrial basalt from southern Colorado are examined using SEM, EPMA, TEM, and µXRD techniques. The olivines in the meteorite contain linear nanotubes of hydrous material, amorphous areas, and fluid dissolution textures quite distinct from alteration identified in other Martian meteorites. Instead, they bear resemblance to terrestrial deuteric alteration features. The presence of the hydrous alteration phase Mg‐laihunite within the olivines has been confirmed by µXRD analysis. The cores of the olivines in both Martian and terrestrial samples are overgrown by unaltered rims whose compositions match those of a separate population of groundmass olivines, suggesting that the core olivines are xenocrysts whose alteration preceded crystallization of the groundmass. The terrestrial sample is linked to deep crustal metasomatism and the “ignimbrite flare‐up” of the Oligocene epoch. The comparison of the two samples suggests the existence of an analogous relatively water‐rich magmatic reservoir on Mars.     

Speciation of Arsenic Using Chelation Solvent Extraction and High Performance Liquid Chromatography

Research interest in speciation of arsenic stems from its species dependent behavior in the environment and in living organisms. The complexity of the matrix to be analyzed and low concentrations of target arsenic species that may be labile or difficult to chromatogram, indicate that a suitable pre‐treatment methodology is required. This study investigated the usefulness of chelation solvent extraction – high performance liquid chromatography (CSE‐HPLC) for the speciation of arsenic in water. It involved reacting arsenic with the chelant known for its affinity towards arsenic, followed by extraction, separation, and identification of the arsenic‐chelant‐arsenic complex. Arsenic species having different physicochemical properties were investigated. Species, such as, As₂O₃, As₃O₅, KH₂AsO₄, Na₂HAsO₄, and NaAsO₂ were detected as a group of closely eluted peaks with different retention times and spectral properties, whereas, the organic arsenic species CH₃Na₂AsO₃, o‐arsanilic acid, roxarson and triphenyl arsine separated quite well on the EnviroseP‐CM HPLC column. Key method parameters, such as, type of HPLC column, composition of mobile phase and organic solvents affecting peak resolution and sensitivity were optimized. Real environmental matrices contaminated with arsenic were analyzed under varying wavelengths (λ_max = 190, 210, 220, 234, 244, and 282 nm), with good precision. Different arsenic species were detected in these samples with excellent background and signal‐to‐noise ratios demonstrating the robustness of the method. The detection limit, reproducibility, selectivity, accuracy, and dynamic range of the calibration curves were evaluated.     

Robotic telescopes and networks: New tools for education and science

Nowadays many telescopes around the world are automated and some networks of robotic telescopes are active or planned. Such equipment could be used for thetraining of students and for science in the Universities of DCs and of newastronomical countries, by sending them observational data via Internetor through remotely controlled telescope. It seems that it is thetime to open up for discussion with UN and ESA organizations and also withIAU, how to implement links between robotic telescopes and suchUniversities applying for collaborations. Many scientific fields couldthus be accessible to them, for example on stellar variability, near-earthobject follow-up, -ray burst counterpart tracking, and so on.