Toxicity and compositional analysis of aromatic hydrocarbon fractions of two pairs of undegraded and biodegraded crude oils from the Santa Maria (California) and Vienna basins

The monoaromatic and total aromatic hydrocarbon fractions of two pairs of undegraded and moderately biodegraded crude oils from the Santa Maria basin (California) and the Vienna basin (Austria), all dominated by unresolved complex mixtures, were studied regarding their composition and toxicity towards the feeding rate of the marine mussel Mytilus edulis. Total aromatic and monoaromatic hydrocarbon fractions from sulphur-rich Monterey Formation crude oils were slightly more toxic than the fractions isolated from sulphur-lean Vienna basin oils. The ecotoxicity tests did not show any significant differences in toxicity of aromatic compounds from undegraded or in-reservoir biodegraded crude oils from the same oilfield although some differences in composition were observed. Organic sulphur compounds are suspected to cause the slightly higher toxicity of the aromatic hydrocarbon fractions from the Monterey oils.     

An overview of fast pyrolysis of biomass

Biomass fast pyrolysis is of rapidly growing interest in Europe as it is perceived to offer significant logistical and hence economic advantages over other thermal conversion processes. This is because the liquid product can be stored until required or readily transported to where it can be most effectively utilised. The objective of this paper is to review the design considerations faced by the developers of fast pyrolysis, upgrading and utilisation processes in order to successfully implement the technologies. Aspects of design of a fast pyrolysis system include feed drying; particle size; pretreatment; reactor configuration; heat supply; heat transfer; heating rates; reaction temperature; vapour residence time; secondary cracking; char separation; ash separation; liquids collection. Each of these aspects is reviewed and discussed. A case study shows the application of the technology to waste wood and how this approach gives very good control of contaminants. Finally the problem of spillage is addressed through respirometric tests on bio-oils concluding with a summary of the potential contribution that fast pyrolysis can make to global warming.     

Two-point statistics of vertical crustal movements of the Pannonian basin

The Pannonian Basin or in a broad sense, the Carpatho-Balkan region, is a suitable test area to study the statistical qualities of the Earth's vertical crustal movements. The second-order moments of relative and absolute quantities of motion (vertical velocity, horizontal gradient) are given for the type of a subsiding region with uplifts in its marginal zone — in the ideal case of circular ssymetry. The foundation is the theory of two-dimensional homogenous stochastic processes. Empirically estimated autocovariance functions of the relative vertical rate are approximated by model functions, corresponding to the geotectonic situation of the region, and they are transformed into the wave-number domain. All modelled and empirically estimated second-order moments are given as auxiliary means for signal prediction. The properties of the signal, represented in the maps of the Earth's vertical crustal movements (1:2 500 000, Moscow 1973; 1:2 000 000, Joó et al., 1979), can be derived from the spectral representation.     

Anomalous gold, antimony, arsenic, and tungsten in ground water and alluvium around disseminated gold deposits along the Getchell Trend, Humboldt County, Nevada

Ground-water, alluvium, and bedrock samples were collected from drill holes near the Chimney Creek, Preble, Summer Camp, and Rabbit Creek disseminated gold deposits in northern Nevada to determine if Au and ore-related metals, such as As, Sb, and W, are being hydromorphically mobilized from buried mineralized rock, and, if they are, to determine whether the metal-enriched ground water is reacting with the alluvial material to produce a geochemical anomaly within the overburden.Results of chemical analyses of drill-hole water samples show the presence of hydromorphic dispersion anomalies of Au, As, Sb, and W in the local ground-water systems associated with these deposits. Background concentrations for Au in the ground water up-gradient from the buried deposits was less than 1 nanogram per liter (ng/L), near the deposits the Au values ranged from 1 to 140 ng/ L, and in drill holes penetrating mineralized rock, concentrations of Au in the ground water were as high as 4700 ng/L. Highest concentrations of Au were found in ground-water samples where the measured E_h and the distribution of arsenic species, arsenite [As(III)] and arsenate [As(V)], indicated oxidizing redox potentials. Similarly, As, Sb, and W concentrations in the ground water near the deposits were significantly enriched relative to concentrations in the ground water up-gradient from the deposits. In general, however, the highest concentrations of As, Sb, and W occurred in ground-water samples where the measured E_h and the distribution of arsenic species indicated reducing conditions. Arsenic concentrations ranged from 9 to 710 micrograms per liter (μg/L); Sb, from less than 0.1 to 250 μg/L; and W, from 1 to 260 μg/L.In addition, analysis of sequential dissolution and extraction solutions of drill cuttings of alluvium and bedrock indicate geochemical anomalies of gold and ore-related metals in the overburden at depths corresponding to the location of the present-day water table. This relationship suggests that water-rock reactions around these buried deposits are active and that this information could be very useful in exploration programs for concealed disseminated gold deposits.     

The rotational structure of the B-X system of sulfur dimers in the spectra of Comet Hyakutake (C/1996 B2)

We have constructed line-by-line fluorescence models for the ro-vibrational bands of the B-X system of sulfur dimers (S₂). For the first time the detailed rotational lines of the bands are clearly resolved in the high-resolution echelle spectra of Comet Hyakutake (C/1996 B2), which were obtained at the Kitt Peak 4-m telescope on 26.4 March 1996 (UT). In order to construct satisfactory band models of the B-X system, we first compared the models to laboratory spectra available in literature, and then compared the models including Swings effects to the high-resolution spectra of Hyakutake. From the model fits, we derived a rotational temperature of 70±10 K, which should represent a temperature of a coma region close to the nucleus, where most of the S₂ emissions originate. We present previously proposed scenarios for the origin of S₂ in cometary comae, and compare them with our spectral analysis.     

Dynamic character of the hydrothermal vent habitat and the nature of sulphide chimney fauna

A major substratum for vent organisms on Juan de Fuca and Explorer Ridges of the northeast Pacific is the polymetallic sulphide chimney. The deposition processes and subsequent growth of such chimneys provide a dynamic and extreme habitat that changes rapidly. During initial venting stages, colonization must await stabilization of the chimney structure. As the porous anhydrite shell accumulates sulphide minerals, protection from direct hot water contact increases for organisms colonizing the outer walls while sufficient vent water still diffuses for the support of chemosynthesis. Vestimentiferan worms are found on small sulphide mounds but the active growth and collapse of anhydrite spires is a major source of disruption and mortality. High temperature venting and spire growth appear to attract alvinellid polychaetes which may be implicated in the process of strengthening and sealing the anhydrite spires. Fauna on the growing chimney is subject to changes in fluid flow patterns that can make the structure uninhabitable. Large chimneys are inhabited by more species indicating that a diversification of habitat results from variations in mineralization and fluid availability. Chimney fauna has become specialized in exploiting an unpredictable and unstable habitat in an extreme example of the control of biotic development by the physical environment.     

A simple guideline to apply excitation-emission matrix spectroscopy (EEMs) for the characterization of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in anoxic marine sediments

Marine sediments represent a major carbon reservoir on Earth. Dissolved organic matter(DOM) in pore waters accumulates products and intermediates of carbon cycling in sediments. The application of excitation-emission matrix spectroscopy(EEMs) in the analysis of subseafloor DOM samples is largely unexplored due to the redoxsensitive matrix of anoxic pore water. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the interference caused by the matrix on EEMs and propose a guideline to prepare pore water sam...     

Recommendation for the discrimination of human-related and natural seismicity

Various techniques are utilized by the seismological community, extractive industries, energy and geoengineering companies to identify earthquake nucleation processes in close proximity to engineering operation points. These operations may comprise fluid extraction or injections, artificial water reservoir impoundments, open pit and deep mining, deep geothermal power generations or carbon sequestration. In this letter to the editor, we outline several lines of investigation that we suggest to follow to address the discrimination problem between natural seismicity and seismic events induced or triggered by geoengineering activities. These suggestions have been developed by a group of experts during several meetings and workshops, and we feel that their publication as a summary report is helpful for the geoscientific community. Specific investigation procedures and discrimination approaches, on which our recommendations are based, are also published in this Special Issue (SI) of Journal of Seismology.