Mineralogical, chemical, and crystallographic properties of supergene jarosite-group minerals from the Xitieshan Pb-Zn sulfide deposit, northern Tibetan Plateau, China

Supergene jarosite-group minerals are widespread in weathering profiles overlying Pb-Zn sulfide ores at Xitieshan, northern Tibetan Plateau, China. They consist predominantly of K-deficient natrojarosite, with lesser amounts of K-rich natrojarosite and plumbojarosite. Electron microprobe (EMP) analyses, scanning electron microcopy (SEM) investigation, and X-ray mapping reveal that the jarosite-group minerals are characterized by spectacular oscillatory zoning composed of alternating growth bands of K-deficient and K-bearing natrojarosite (K₂O >1 wt.%). Plumbojarosite, whenever present, occurs as an overgrowth in the outermost bands, and its composition can be best represented by K_0.29Na_0.19Pb_0.31Fe_2.66Al_0.22(SO₄)_1.65(PO₄)_0.31(AsO₄)_0.04(OH)_7.37. The substitution of monovalent for divalent cations at the A site of plumbojarosite is charge balanced by the substitution of five-valent for six-valent anions in XO₄ at the X site. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) of representative samples reveal mass losses of 11.46 wt.% at 446.6 °C and 21.42 wt.% at 683.4 °C due to dehydroxylation and desulfidation, respectively. TGA data also indicate that the natrojarosite structure collapses at 446.6 °C, resulting in the formation of NaFe(SO₄)₂ and minor hematite. The decomposition products of NaFe(SO₄)₂ are hematite and Na₂SO₄. Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses show that the jarosite-group minerals have mean unit-cell parameters of a?=?7.315 Å and c?=?016.598 Å. XRD and EMP data support the view that substitutions of Na for K in the A site and full Fe occupancy in the B site can considerably decrease the unit-cell parameter c, but only slightly increase a. The results from this study suggest that the observed oscillatory zoning of jarosite-group minerals at Xitieshan resulted mainly from substitutions of K for Na at the A site and P for S at the X site.     

Soil moisture potential and water content in the unsaturated zone within the arid Ejina Oasis in Northwest China

Three soil profiles were selected in the Ejina Oasis, northwest China, to determine water content profiles and evolution of soil moisture potentials in the unsaturated zone within the arid area. The total soil moisture potentials have been monitored for about 3 months in 2001 at different depths in the soil profiles. The occurrence and movement of water in the unsaturated zone was analyzed using the zero flux plane (ZFP) method. It is shown that convergent ZFPs and divergent ZFPs may occur at depths between 0.5 and 3.0 m, and that the depth of the ZFPs was controlled by the root zone of plants growing on the land surface. Profiles of the total soil moisture potentials were observed to be coincident with those of the water contents at the three experimental sites. The total soil moisture potential showed a slight increasing trend and the ZFPs tend to vanish from summer to winter as the water extraction by roots decreased. Evapotranspiration through vegetation has an important bearing on the water content and the total potential in the unsaturated zone.     

Qualitätsanforderungen an Oberflächengewässer: Zielvorgaben,Qualitätsziele und chemische Gewässergüteklassifizierung

Quality Requirements for Fresh Waters: Water Quality Targets, Water Quality Objectives, and Chemical Water Quality Classification In the Federal Republic of Germany, water quality requirements for the protection of inland surface waters against hazardous substances are formulated on the basis of a quality targets derivation concept developed jointly by the Federal Government and the Federal States. The quality requirements were termed “water quality targets” in order to make it clear that the values derived are orientational values rather than legally binding limit values. The international comparison of quality requirements for surface waters shows that, on the whole, the national quality targets ensure a high level of protection. According to present scientific knowledge, impairments of uses, such as supply of drinking water, or risks to aquatic communities need not to be expected if the quality targets are complied with. A comparison of water quality data with the water quality targets makes it possible, on the one hand, to identify those substances whose inputs must be further reduced; on the other hand, it also shows that, for a number of substances, there is no need at present for concern over their adversely water quality. A further differentiation of the aquatic hazard potential of pollutants allows a water quality classification system to be developed on the basis of the quality targets derivation concept. The basic elements of this water quality classification system are presented, and its application is explained by way of examples.     

Solar Flares and Coronal Mass Ejections: A Statistically Determined Flare Flux – CME Mass Correlation

In an effort to examine the relationship between flare flux and corresponding CME mass, we temporally and spatially correlate all X-ray flares and CMEs in the LASCO and GOES archives from 1996 to 2006. We cross-reference 6733 CMEs having well-measured masses against 12 050 X-ray flares having position information as determined from their optical counterparts. For a given flare, we search in time for CMEs which occur 10 – 80 minutes afterward, and we further require the flare and CME to occur within ± 45° in position angle on the solar disk. There are 826 CME/flare pairs which fit these criteria. Comparing the flare fluxes with CME masses of these paired events, we find CME mass increases with flare flux, following an approximately log-linear, broken relationship: in the limit of lower flare fluxes, log (CME mass)∝0.68×log (flare flux), and in the limit of higher flare fluxes, log (CME mass)∝0.33×log (flare flux). We show that this broken power-law, and in particular the flatter slope at higher flare fluxes, may be due to an observational bias against CMEs associated with the most energetic flares: halo CMEs. Correcting for this bias yields a single power-law relationship of the form log (CME mass)∝0.70×log (flare flux). This function describes the relationship between CME mass and flare flux over at least 3 dex in flare flux, from ≈ 10⁻⁷ – 10⁻⁴ W m⁻².     

Die Radialgeschwindigkeit des Am Sternes 68 Tau

The radial velocity of the star 68 Tau is searched in dependence on the light variation period. No variations have been proved. The mean radial velocity of 22 spectra is 40.4 km/sec ± 0.7 km/sec.     

Closed-form solution of P4P or the three-dimensional resection problem in terms of Möbius barycentric coordinates

 The perspective 4 point (P4P) problem - also called the three-dimensional resection problem - is solved by means of a new algorithm: At first the unknown Cartesian coordinates of the perspective center are computed by means of M?bius barycentric coordinates. Secondly these coordinates are represented in terms of observables, namely space angles in the five-dimensional simplex generated by the unknown point and the four known points. Substitution of M?bius barycentric coordinates leads to the unknown Cartesian coordinates (2.8)–(2.10) of Box 2.2. The unknown distances within the five-dimensional simplex are determined by solving the Grunert equations, namely by forward reduction to one algebraic equation (3.8) of order four and backward linear substitution. Tables 1.–4. contain a numerical example. Finally we give a reference to the solution of the 3 point (P3P) problem, the two-dimensional resection problem, namely to the Ansermet barycentric coordinates initiated by C.F. Gau? (1842), A. Schreiber (1908) and A.␣Ansermet (1910). Received: 05 March 1996; Accepted: 15 October 1996     

青藏铁路唐古拉山-拉萨段全新世控震断裂研究

地表调查表明,沿青藏铁路唐古拉山-拉萨段存在5条重要的全新世控震断裂带,从北到南分别是温泉盆地西缘断裂带、安多盆地北缘断裂带、崩错断裂带、谷露西缘断裂带和当雄-羊八井断裂带.构造-地貌和年代学分析结果表明,北部的温泉盆地西缘断裂和安多盆地北缘断裂带的活动强度相对比较小,平均垂直活动速率约为0.2～0.5mm/a.南侧的谷露西缘断裂带和当雄-羊八井断裂带的全新世垂直活动速率为约(15±0.5)mm/a.而中部的崩错走滑断裂带的活动强度最大,晚第四纪期间的走滑速率可达(11±4.5)mm/a.全新世断裂活动和古地震研究表明,其中温泉盆地西缘断裂带、安多盆地北缘断裂带、崩错断裂带的西北分支、当雄-羊八井断裂带的当雄段等区域未来发生强震的概率相对更大.     

Depositional history of the Main Tuff Interval of the Wittenoom Formation, late Archean—early Proterozoic Hamersley Group, Western Australia

The Main Tuff Interval (MTI) is a 3.5 to 16.4 m thick sequence of pyroclastic turbidites in the Wittenoom Formation of the late Archean to early Proterozoic Hamersley Group, Western Australia. The Hamersley Group accumulated in a basin located on the Archean Pilbara Craton, Western Australia. MTI pyroclasts formed via hydrovolcanic eruption processes from a magma that was likely intermediate in composition. Eruption took place in a shallow subaqueous setting. The MTI was deposited by high- and low- concentration turbidity currents in four overlapping regional depositional packages. Paleocurrent and stratigraphic data indicate the MTI source lay to the north of the present exposure limits of the Hamersley Group on the Pilbara Craton, and was likely to have been a single volcano. Reflection of turbidity currents in the southeastern part of the study area and westward travel of the reflected flows indicate that the Hamersley Group depositional basin shallowed to the east and south at the time of MTI deposition. The presence of the MTI source volcano on the northern Pilbara Craton indicates that the subsidence and marine deposition recorded by the Hamersley Group may be limited to the southern portion of the craton, and that volcanism may have continued on the northern Pilbara Craton.     

Reservoir construction from the Newberry Volcano EGS Demonstration

The Newberry Volcano EGS Demonstration in central Oregon tests recent technological advances designed to reduce the cost of power generated by EGS in a hot, dry well (NWG 55-29) drilled in 2008. An EGS reservoir was created by injecting large volumes of cold water, causing existing fractures to slip in shear (known as hydroshearing) generating the seismic waves that can be used to map fracture location and size. At the Newberry Demonstration the final injectivity ranged between 1.4 and 1.7 L/s/MPa a ~6x improvement over the initial injectivity of the well. The injectivity improvement and seismic analysis indicate that previously impermeable fractures were enhanced during the NWG 55-29 stimulation.     

Influence of climate factors on spatial distribution of Texas cattle breeds

This paper investigates the spatial distribution of cattle breeders in Texas to quantify how climate factors influence cattle breed selection. A multivariate probit model is employed to examine the county-level binary choices of Bos taurus, Bos indicus and composite breeds derived from cattle breed association membership data. The estimation results suggest that summer heat stress is a significant factor for breed selection: positive for Bos indicus and negative for Bos taurus and composite breeds, with the average marginal effects on breed membership probability being 9.7 %, ?26.5 % and ?7.9 %, respectively. The intensity of the summer heat impacts can lead to noteworthy changes in spatial distributions of Texas cattle breeds in the event of climate change.