Rb-Sr direct dating of pyrite from the Pipela VMS Zn-Cu prospect,Rajasthan, NW India

In unaltered volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) ore deposits, variable Rb/Sr ratios in the ore mineral permits application of the Rb-Sr isotopic method to directly date the time of ore formation. In contrast, post-crystallization deformation and metamorphism would open the system to metamorphic fluids that would alter elemental ratios. To test whether the Rb-Sr isotopic systematics in the ore minerals had preserved the formation time in the ∼800 Ma metamorphosed VMS ores within the ∼1 Ga Ambaji-Sendra arc terrain, Rajasthan, NW India, common sulfides, pyrite and sphalerite from the Pipela Cu-Zn prospect, were analyzed for their geochemistry and Rb-Sr isotopic systematics. Trace and rare earth elements in these minerals are resident probably at crystal defects, whereas all inclusions (including those from metamorphic fluids) were removed by a simple crush leach method. Results of direct dating by the Rb-Sr method to the hydrothermal pyrite yielded an isochron age of 1025±76 Ma with an initial Sr ratio of 0.7051±0.0006, similar to previously determined zircon U-Pb age of 987 Ma from associated rhyolites. This suggests the applicability of the crush leach method to date formation time of metamorphosed pyrite ores.     

Evaluation of bank filtration as a pretreatment method for the provision of hygienically safe drinking water in Norway: results from monitoring at two full-scale sites

Two case studies were carried out in central Norway in order to assess the performance of bank filtration systems in cold-climate fluvial aquifers relying on recharge from humic-rich surface waters with moderate microbial contamination. Three municipal wells and two surface-water sources at operative bank filtration systems were monitored for naturally occurring bacteriophages, fecal indicators, natural organic matter (NOM) and physico-chemical water quality parameters during a 4-month period. Aquifer passage effectively reduced the microorganism and NOM concentrations at both study sites. Bacteriophages were detected in 13 of 16 (81%) surface-water samples and in 4 of 24 (17%) well-water samples, and underwent 3 ± 0.3 log₁₀ reduction after 50–80-m filtration and 20–30 days of subsurface passage. NOM reductions (color: 74–97%; dissolved organic carbon: 54–80%; very hydrophobic acids: 70%) were similar to those achieved by conventional water-treatment processes and no further treatment was needed. Both groundwater dilution and sediment filtration contributed to the hygienic water quality improvements, but sediment filtration appeared to be the most important process with regard to microbial and NOM reductions. A strengths-weaknesses-opportunities-threats analysis showed that bank filtration technology has a high potential as a pretreatment method for the provision of hygienically safe drinking water in Norway.     

Status of sedimentation in King Talal Dam,case study from Jordan

This paper focuses on characterizing the current status of physical and chemical characteristics of King Talal Dam (KTD) sediments. The quality of sediments was investigated based on several international sediment quality guidelines. The volume of sediment and sedimentation rate in (KTD) was also estimated. Five types of granulometric textural facies were observed for the sediments of KTD reservoir bed, with an average grain size distribution of gravel (1.38%), sand (32.38%), silt (32.35%) and clay (32.38%). The fraction of <63 micron showed that the total mean size was 8.0 micron. Other sediment parameters in KTD were 7.0% for total organic matter (TOM), 7.3 for pH, 35.9% for CaCO₃ and 100.5 meq/100 g for cation exchange capacity, with dominant mineralogical constituents of quartz, calcite, dolomite, clay minerals and minor feldspar. The total concentrations of F, Cl, NO₂, NO₃, PO₄ and SO₄ in sediment samples were lower inward for KTD. The vast majority of trace metals in sediments were generally within the standard limits recommended for soils. TOM and grain size of sediment are major factors governing the trace metal concentrations. The calculated geoaccumulation index (I _geo) and enrichment factor of metals in bottom sediments showed that the metals were in the following order: Cd > Pb > Zn > Co > Cr > Ni > Fe > Cu > Sr > Mn and Cd > Zn > Pb > Co > Cr > Ni > Cu > Sr > Mn, respectively. Based on the sonic survey of KTD reservoir, the annual sedimentation rate was about 0.4061 MCM/year, in which about 18.66% of the reservoir initial storage capacity was lost to sediments and a projected lifespan of about 198 years.     

Current and thermohaline characteristics of the Arabian Sea during January 1998

Based on a ship survey during January 1998, the characteristics of the flow, the thermohaline properties and the volume transport of the Arabian Sea are discussed. A strong westward flow exists between 10.5?N and 11?N, part of which turns to the south as the Somali current near the coast at about 10?N and the rest turns north. At the passage between the African continent and the So- cotra Island, the northern branch separates into two flows: the left one enters the passage and the right one flows eastward along the southern slope of the island. Off the island the flow separates once more, most of it meandering northeast and a small fraction flow- ing southeast. Volume transport calculation suggests that the tidal transport is one or two orders of magnitude smaller than the total transport in this region and it becomes more important near the coast. The average velocity of the flow in the upper layer (0-150 m) is about 20 cm s-1, with a maximum of 53 cm s-1 appearing east of the Socotra Island, and the subsurface layer (200-800 m) has an aver- age velocity of 8.6 cm s-1; the velocity becomes smaller at greater depths. The depth of the seasonal thermocline is about 100 m, above which there is a layer with well mixed temperature and dissolved oxygen. High-salinity and oxygen-rich water appears near the surface of the northern Arabian Sea; a salinity maximum and oxygen minimum at 100 m depth along 8?N testifies the subduction of surface water from the northern Arabian Sea. Waters from the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf also influence the salinity of the area.     

Geomorphological and sedimentological comparison of fluvial terraces and karst caves in Zhangjiajie,northwest Hunan,China: an archive of sandstone landform development

The Zhangjiajie Sandstone Peak Forest Geopark (Zhangjiajie World Geopark) of northwest Hunan, China hosts a well-preserved sequence of fluvial terraces and karst caves. In this contribution, a comparative study of fluvial terraces with karst caves along the middle-lower Suoxi River in Zhangjiajie World Geopark is presented to improve the understanding of the development of striking sandstone landscape in the upper Suoxi River. By integrating geomorphological, sedimentological, and geochronological techniques, the possible correlation between fluvial terraces and karst caves, as well as their climatic and tectonic implications is investigated. The available electron spin resonance and thermo-luminescence numerical ages coupled with morphostratigraphic analysis indicate that aggradation of fluvial terrace levels occurred at ca. 347 ± 34 ka (T₄), 104.45 ± 8.88 to 117.62 ± 9.99 ka (T₃), 60.95 ± 5.18 ka (T₂), and Holocene (T₁), followed by the stream incision. Fluvial terrace levels (T₄ to T₁) correlate morphologically with the karst cave levels (L₁ to L₄), yet the proposed chronology for the fluvial terrace levels is a bit later than the chronological data obtained from karst caves. In northwest Hunan, where a unique sandstone peak forest landscape was extensively developed, the fluvial terrace sequences as well as the cave systems are the important archives for studying the evolution of the sandstone landscape. The beginning of the sandstone landscape development must be earlier than the aggradation of the fluvial terrace T₄, allowing this unique landscape to occur in the Middle Pleistocene.     

Preliminary Study on Applicability of Microsatellite DNA Primers from Parasite Protozoa Trypanosoma cruzi in Free-living Protozoa

1　Introduction　Generallyknownasacodominantgeneticmarker ,microsatellitehasbeenwidelyusedinstudiesonpopu lationgenetics,high resolutiongenotyping ,genemap ping ,evolution ,linkageanalysis ,conservationbiology ,behaviouralecology ,relationsbetweenparasite…     

Emerging Technologies and Synergies for Airborne and Space-Based Measurements of Water Vapor Profiles

A deeper understanding of how clouds will respond to a warming climate is one of the outstanding challenges in climate science. Uncertainties in the response of clouds, and particularly shallow clouds, have been identified as the dominant source of the discrepancy in model estimates of equilibrium climate sensitivity. As the community gains a deeper understanding of the many processes involved, there is a growing appreciation of the critical role played by fluctuations in water vapor and the coupling of water vapor and atmospheric circulations. Reduction of uncertainties in cloud-climate feedbacks and convection initiation as well as improved understanding of processes governing these effects will result from profiling of water vapor in the lower troposphere with improved accuracy and vertical resolution compared to existing airborne and space-based measurements. This paper highlights new technologies and improved measurement approaches for measuring lower tropospheric water vapor and their expected added value to current observations. Those include differential absorption lidar and radar, microwave occultation between low-Earth orbiters, and hyperspectral microwave remote sensing. Each methodology is briefly explained, and measurement capabilities as well as the current technological readiness for aircraft and satellite implementation are specified. Potential synergies between the technologies are discussed, actual examples hereof are given, and future perspectives are explored. Based on technical maturity and the foreseen near-mid-term development path of the various discussed measurement approaches, we find that improved measurements of water vapor throughout the troposphere would greatly benefit from the combination of differential absorption lidar focusing on the lower troposphere with passive remote sensors constraining the upper-tropospheric humidity.     

A GIS-based method of risk assessment on no. 11 coal-floor water inrush from Ordovician limestone in Hancheng mining area,China

The no. 11 coal seam in the deep area of Hancheng mining area is mining in recent years, which is threatened by the water inrush from the Ordovician limestone aquifer. Coal-floor water inrush is governed by the water abundance of coal-floor aquifer, the water-resisting performance of coal-floor aquitard, and the pathway connecting the water source and the working face. To make an accuracy risk assessment of water inrush from the no. 11 coal seam floor, a GIS-based vulnerability index method (VIM) is adopted for its superior comprehensive consideration of more controlling factors, powerful spatial analysis, and intuitively display functions. This study firstly established an index system including the water pressure of the coal-floor aquifer, the unit water inflow, the thickness, the core recovery percentage, the thickness ratio of brittle rocks to ductile rocks, the thickness of effective aquitard, and the accumulated length of faults and folds, of which the former six indexes governed the water abundance of the coal-floor aquifer which was combined with the last two factors to determine the risk of coal-floor water inrush. Secondly, the thematic map of each controlling factor is established by GIS using the geological prospecting data, and the weight of each factor is determined by the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) after consulting the expert review panel. At last, a vulnerability index is obtained and used to assess the risk of coal-floor water inrush of the no. 11 coal seam. The risk of water inrush of the no. 11 coal seam of the study area was ranked to three zones: the southeastern shallow area in red color is the dangerous zone, the wide northwestern area in green color is the safe zone, and the transition area in yellow color is the moderate-risk zone. Compared with the actual water-inrush incidents, the risk assessment result was verified to achieve an accuracy of 82.35%, which is proved to be a dependable reference for the prevention and controlling of coal-floor water inrush of the no. 11 coal seam in Hancheng mining area.     

U redox fronts and kaolinisation in basement-hosted unconformity-related U ores of the Athabasca Basin (Canada): late U remobilisation by meteoric fluids

Proterozoic basement-hosted unconformity-related uranium deposits of the Athabasca Basin (Saskatchewan, Canada) were affected by significant uranium redistribution along oxidation–reduction redox fronts related to cold and late meteoric fluid infiltration. These redox fronts exhibit the same mineralogical and geochemical features as the well-studied uranium roll-front deposits in siliclastic rocks. The primary hydrothermal uranium mineralisation (1.6–1.3 Ga) of basement-hosted deposits is strongly reworked to new disseminated ores comprising three distinctly coloured zones: a white-green zone corresponding to the previous clay-rich alteration halo contemporaneous with hydrothermal ores, a uranium front corresponding to the uranium deposition zone of the redox front (brownish zone, rich in goethite) and a hematite-rich red zone marking the front progression. The three zones directly reflect the mineralogical zonation related to uranium oxides (pitchblende), sulphides, iron minerals (hematite and goethite) and alumino-phosphate-sulphate (APS) minerals. The zoning can be explained by processes of dissolution–precipitation along a redox interface and was produced by the infiltration of cold (<50°C) meteoric fluids to the hydrothermally altered areas. U, Fe, Ca, Pb, S, REE, V, Y, W, Mo and Se were the main mobile elements in this process, and their distribution within the three zones was, for most of them, directly dependent on their redox potential. The elements concentrated in the redox fronts were sourced by the alteration of previously crystallised hydrothermal minerals, such as uranium oxides and light rare earth element (LREE)-rich APS. The uranium oxides from the redox front are characterised by LREE-enriched patterns, which differ from those of unconformity-related ores and clearly demonstrate their distinct conditions of formation. Uranium redox front formation is thought to be linked to fluid circulation episodes initiated during the 400–300 Ma period during uplift and erosion of the Athabasca Basin when it was near the Equator and to have been still active during the last million years. A major kaolinisation event was caused by changes in the fluid circulation regime, reworking the primary uranium redox fronts and causing the redistribution of elements originally concentrated in the uranium-enriched meteoric-related redox fronts.     

明矾石综合利用途径的探析和热熔提Al的试验研究

明矾石综合利用的研究,有多种方法可供参考,通常是利用明矾石中的Ｋ、Ｓ、Ａｌ三种元素。碱熔法从明矾石中提Ａｌ的研究 从明矾石中提Ａｌ的物理工作参数和综合利用明矾石的方向。