Preparation of iron phosphate from sludge sourced from the electrocoagulation treatment of source-separated urine

In order to prepare iron phosphate by waste sludge, we report a method for effective utilization of the sludge obtained from the electrocoagulation treatment of source-separated urine. The sludge was dissolved with hydrochloric acid and pretreated with H₂O₂ and Na₃PO₄; finally, NaOH was added to precipitate iron phosphate from the solution. Thermal treatment of the precipitate at 750 °C in air yielded crystalline quartz-like anhydrous FePO₄. The precipitate was characterized by a number of thermal techniques such as thermogravimetry/differential thermal analysis, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray powder diffraction.     

A seasonal comparison of prokaryote numbers,biomass and heterotrophic productivity in waters of the KwaZulu-Natal Bight,South Africa

The KwaZulu-Natal Bight is a shallow indentation of the eastern seaboard of South Africa, characterised by a narrow (45 km wide) extension of the continental shelf, with a shelf break at about 100 m. It has a complex hydrography: the waters of the bight are derived from the fast-flowing, southward-trending Agulhas Current, which is fed mostly by the tropical and subtropical surface waters of the South-West Indian Ocean subgyre, which are generally oligotrophic in nature, notably depleted in reduced nitrogen and phosphate except at river mouths and during periodic upwelling of deeper nutrient-rich water. Despite this, the bight is believed to be relatively productive, and it is suggested that efficient nutrient recycling by prokaryotes may sustain primary productivity efficiently, even in the absence of new nutrient inputs. Here we have measured bacterial numbers, biomass and heterotrophic productivity during summer and winter in conjunction with phytoplankton standing stock and factors that influence it. Bacterial distribution closely matched phytoplankton distribution in surface waters, and was highest close to the coast. Bacterial standing stocks were similar to those of oligotrophic systems elsewhere (0.5–5.0 × 10⁵ cells ml^–1; 1 × 10^–8 to 1.25 × 10^–7 g C ml^–1) and increased in association with the development of phytoplankton blooms offshore and with inputs of allochthonous material by rivers at the coast. Heterotrophic productivity in summer was lowest in the far south and north of the bight (0.5 × 10^–10 g C ml^–1 h^–1) but higher close to the shore, over shallow banks, and in association with increased phytoplankton abundance over the midshelf (1.0–3.5 × 10^–9 g C ml^–1 h^–1). There were marked seasonal differences with lower bacterial standing stocks (5 × 10⁴ to 2 × 10⁵ cells ml^–1; 4–5 × 10^–9 to 1–2 × 10^–8 g C ml^–1) and very low bacterial productivity (4 × 10^–11 to 1 × 10^–10 g C ml^–1 h^–1) in winter, probably resulting from lowered rates of primary productivity and dissolved organic matter release as well as reduced riverine allochthonous inputs during the winter drought.     

The 2006 (Мw 8.3) and 2007 (Мw 8.1) Simushir Earthquakes and the 2011 Tohoku Megaearthquake (Мw 9.0): Tectonic Stresses and Development of the Seismic Process

The peculiarities of catastrophic earthquakes that occurred in the Northwest Pacific region on January 13, 2007, and January 15, 2007, east of the Kuril Islands and the Tohoku megaearthquake of March 11, 2011, east of Japan are considered and analyzed. It is revealed that these earthquakes, apart from the fact that they occurred in the transition zone from the Pacific to island arcs and the Eurasian continent, have common features and similar characteristics. The seismotectonic slip in the source of the chronologically first event, the 2006 Kuril earthquake, was a gentle thrust, while that of the second event of January 13, 2007, was a downthrow beneath the Kuril deep trench.     

Cosmogenic Substances in the Zhamanshin Crater

Using high-resolution analytical electron microscopy, heterogeneous fragments of cosmogenic substances, such as nickelphosphide Ni₃P and the unnamed intermetallide ZnAl₂, are detected for the first time for a large meteorite crater, the Zhamanshin circular structure. Due to the impossibility of simultaneous finding these phases in the same meteorite, an assumption is made on the cometary nature of the impactor of the Zhamanshin crater.