Ablation Characteristic of Ilmenite using UV Nanosecond and Femtosecond Lasers: Implications for Non‐Matrix‐Matched Quantification

Ilmenite (FeTiO₃) is a common accessory mineral and has been used as a powerful petrogenetic indicator in many geological settings. Elemental fractionation and matrix effects in ilmenite (CRN63E‐K) and silicate glass (NIST SRM 610) were investigated using 193 nm ArF excimer nanosecond (ns) laser and 257 nm femtosecond (fs) laser ablation systems coupled to an inductively coupled plasma‐mass spectrometer. The concentration‐normalised ⁵⁷Fe and ⁴⁹Ti responses in ilmenite were higher than those in NIST SRM 610 by a factor of 1.8 using fs‐LA. Compared with the 193 nm excimer laser, smaller elemental fractionation was observed using the 257 nm fs laser. When using 193 nm excimer laser ablation, the selected range of the laser energy density had a significant effect on the elemental fractionation in ilmenite. Scanning electron microscopy images of ablation craters and the morphologies of the deposited aerosol materials showed more melting effects and an enlarged particle deposition area around the ablation site of the ns‐LA‐generated crater when compared with those using fs‐LA. The ejected material around the ns crater predominantly consisted of large droplets of resolidified molten material; however, the ejected material around the fs crater consisted of agglomerates of fine particles with ‘rough' shapes. These observations are a result of the different ablation mechanisms for ns‐ and fs‐LAs. Non‐matrix‐matched calibration was applied for the analysis of ilmenite samples using NIST SRM 610 as a reference material for both 193 nm excimer LA‐ICP‐MS and fs‐LA‐ICP‐MS. Similar analytical results for most elements in ilmenite samples were obtained using both 193 nm excimer LA‐ICP‐MS at a high laser energy density of 12.7 J cm^?2 and fs‐LA‐ICP‐MS.     

Effects of key components of <Emphasis Type="Italic">S. triqueter</Emphasis> root exudates on fractions and bioavailability of pyrene–lead co-contaminated soils

The key components of S. triqueter root exudates involved 4-oxo-pentanoic acid, succinic acid, glutaric acid, phthalate acid, citric acid, vanillic acid, myristic acid, pentadecanoic acid, decanoic acid, 14-methyl-pentadecanoic acid, hexadecanoic acid, octadecanoic acid and oleic acid, and the content of the water-soluble organic acids (citric acid, succinic acid and glutaric acid) significantly increased in pyrene and lead co-contaminated rhizosphere soil. These three water-soluble organic acids including citric acid, succinic acid and glutaric acid were detected as the specific root exudates of S. triqueter under stress of pollutants for pyrene and lead, so they were chosen as the research objects, and they were added into the bioremediation systems of pyrene and lead co-contaminated wetland soils. Compared with the control, the treatments added the three organic acids always improved the quantity of the bioavailable fraction of pyrene and lead in wetland soils and greatly influenced other chemical states of pyrene and lead fractions in the test concentration range. Under the 50 g kg^?1 of organic acids concentration, the amount of the bioavailable fraction of pyrene and lead increased 41.0 and 872.7 % by citric acid, respectively. The enhancement of bioavailability of pyrene and lead in the wetland soil by adding organic acids generally decreased in the following order: citric acid > succinic acid > glutaric acid. Enhancing effects of organic acids on the bioavailability improvement of pyrene and lead is remarkable.     

Applying disk-based discontinuous deformation analysis (DDA) to simulate Donghekou landslide triggered by the Wenchuan earthquake

In this paper, for the first time, disk-based discontinuous deformation analysis (DDA) is applied to simulate a real landslide triggered by an earthquake. For this purpose, the kinematic behaviour of the Donghekou landslide triggered by the Wenchuan earthquake is simulated and the results obtained using disk-based DDA are compared with actual data. The comparisons show that there is a good agreement between the results obtained using disk-based DDA and observed data. The simulation results provided an understanding of the failure behaviour and temporal evolution of the landslide. This study shows that disk-based DDA is a practical numerical tool that can be used to simulate the post-failure behaviour of landslides triggered by an earthquake.