Influence of acid mine drainage on microbial communities in stream and groundwater samples at Guryong Mine,South Korea

The effects of acid mine drainage (AMD) in a stream and groundwater near an abandoned copper mine were characterized by physicochemical properties, bacterial community structure using denaturing gel gradient electrophoresis (DGGE), and microbial activity/diversity using Ecoplate technique. Based on DGGE fingerprints, the eubacterial community structures grouped into the stream water (GRS1, GRS2 and GRS3) and groundwater samples (GW1 and GW2), apparently based on differences in water temperature and the concentrations of dissolved oxygen, nitrate and sulfate. The most highly AMD-contaminated sample (GRS1) had additional α-Proteobacteria whereas the groundwater samples included additional β-Proteobacteria, suggesting the development of populations resistant to AMD toxicity under aerobic and anaerobic conditions, respectively. Community level physiological activities on the 31 Ecoplate substrates suggested that the activities decreased with increasing concentrations of sulfate and heavy metals derived from AMD. The Shannon index showed that microbial diversity was greatest in GRS2, and lowest in GRS1, and was probably related to the level of AMD.     

Insights in the exhumation history of the NW Zagros from bedrock and detrital apatite fission‐track analysis: evidence for a long‐lived orogeny

We present the first fission‐track (FT) thermochronology results for the NW Zagros Belt (SW Iran) in order to identify denudation episodes that occurred during the protracted Zagros orogeny. Samples were collected from the two main detrital successions of the NW Zagros foreland basin: the Palaeocene–early Eocene Amiran–Kashkan succession and the Miocene Agha Jari and Bakhtyari Formations. In situ bedrock samples were furthermore collected in the Sanandaj‐Sirjan Zone. Only apatite fission‐track (AFT) data have been successfully obtained, including 26 ages and 11 track‐length distributions. Five families of AFT ages have been documented from analyses of in situ bedrock and detrital samples: pre‐middle Jurassic at ～171 and ～225 Ma, early–late Cretaceous at ～91 Ma, Maastrichtian at ～66 Ma, middle–late Eocene at ～38 Ma and Oligocene–early Miocene at ～22 Ma. The most widespread middle–late Eocene cooling phase, around ～38 Ma, is documented by a predominant grain‐age population in Agha Jari sediments and by cooling ages of a granitic boulder sample. AFT ages document at least three cooling/denudation periods linked to major geodynamic events related to the Zagros orogeny, during the late Cretaceous oceanic obduction event, during the middle and late Eocene and during the early Miocene. Both late Cretaceous and early Miocene orogenic processes produced bending of the Arabian plate and concomitant foreland deposition. Between the two major flexural foreland episodes, the middle–late Eocene phase mostly produced a long‐lasting slow‐ or nondepositional episode in the inner part of the foreland basin, whereas deposition and tectonics migrated to the NE along the Sanandaj‐Sirjan domain and its Gaveh Rud fore‐arc basin. As evidenced in this study, the Zagros orogeny was long‐lived and multi‐episodic, implying that the timing of accretion of the different tectonic domains that form the Zagros Mountains requires cautious interpretation.     

Major and trace element geochemistry of the Bigadi? Borate deposit, Balikesir, Turkiye

This study investigates the major and trace element geochemistry of Bigadi borate deposits, the largest colemanite and ulexite deposits in the world. The known borate deposits of Turkiye were deposited in the lacustrine environment during Miocene when the volcanic activity occurred from Tertiary to Quaternary. All of the Turkish borate deposits are classified as volcanic related deposits. Boron ore deposits intercalated with claystone, mudstone, tufa and fine layered limestone show lens shape. Borate minerals formed in two zones. Tiilu and Acep-Simav open mines represented the lower and upper borate zones, respectively. Colemanite and ulexite are dominant minerals at all ore zones. The major elements of Bigadi borates contain Ca, Si, Mg, Al, Fe, S, Na, P and Mn at Tiilu, Ca, Na, Si, Mg, S, Al, P and Mn at Simav, and Ca, Na, Si, Mg, S, AI and Mn at Acep samples respectively. Except for Li, Mo, Sb, As, Sr and Se, concentrations of other trace elements are significantly lower than averages of earth crust and andesite at the three mines. With respect to averages of earth crust and andesite, Mo, Sr, As, Li and particularly Se are enriched significantly in the Bigadi. In examining depth-dependent variations of major and trace elements, four element groups at the Tiilu site and six element groups at the Simav and Acep sites were determined. Element abudances or element geochemical trends show differences at the Tülü, Simav and Acep mines. These differences can be explained by the diversity of physicochemical conditions in the deposition environment by the effect of differences at the recharge regime and source.     

Approximate Analytical Theory of Satellite Orbit Prediction Presented in Spherical Coordinates Frame

A comparative review of analytic theories for the motion of Earth satellites in quasi-circular orbits written in the spherical coordinate frame is presented. The theory of motion is developed for satellites in quasi-circular and quasi-equatorial orbits subjected to geopotential, luni-solar and solar radiation pressure force perturbations. The intermediate orbit is Keplerian and the equations of motion are solved by the Lyapunov–Poincaré small parameter method. Both resonant and non-resonant cases are considered. The results can be useful for the development of a complete theory of weakly eccentric orbits.     

Non-linear scattering probability of longitudinal plasma waves in a magnetoactive plasma system

We use the semi-quantum approach to study the Compton scattering and non-linear scattering processes in a magnetoative plasma under the weak turbulence regime. Analytical expressions for these two types of scattering probabilities are derived from first principles forl-l waves. Transiting to limiting cases, the results obtained in this investigation are shown to be identical to previous derivations by other workers.     

Effects of Fe/Mg on the compressibility of synthetic wadsleyite: β-(Mg1-xFex)2SiO4 (x≤0.25)

Four crystals of synthetic wadsleyite, -(Mg,Fe)₂SiO₄, were mounted together in one diamond-anvil cell for the determination of unit-cell parameters as a function of pressure. The Fe/(Fe+Mg) are 0.00, 0.08, 0.16, and 0.25 (the most iron-rich stable composition). Unit-cell refinements were made at 12 pressures up to 4.5 GPa. No phase transitions were observed and all crystals remained dimensionally orthorhombic. Of the three axes, c is the most compressible (0.000239(3) GPa^-1), whereas compressibilities of a and b are both about 30% less. The Fe content has no systematic effect on volume or linear compressibilities. Bulk moduli, based on a Birch-Murnaghan equation of state (K assumed to be 4.00) are 160(3), 169(3), 164(2), and 165(3) GPa for the four crystals in order of increasing Fe. Substitution of Fe for Mg, therefore, does not appear to have a systematic effect on bulk modulus. Other factors, especially Fe³⁺/Fe²⁺ and other deviations from the strict Mg₂SiO₄-Fe₂SiO₄ binary, may have a greater influence on compressibility.     

Determination of Electron Flux Spectra in a Solar Flare with an Augmented Regularization Method: Application to Rhessi Data

Kontar et al. (2004) have shown how to recover mean source electron spectra in solar flares through a physical constraint regularization analysis of the bremsstrahlung photon spectra I() that they produce. They emphasize the use of non-square inversion techniques, and preconditioning combined with physical properties of the spectra to achieve the most meaningful solution to the problem. Higher-order regularization techniques may be used to generate forms with certain desirable properties (e.g., higher-order derivatives). They further note that such analysis may be used to infer properties of the electron energy spectra at energies well above the maximum photon energy observed. In this paper we apply these techniques to data from a solar flare observed by RHESSI on 26 February, 2002. Results using different orders of regularization are presented and compared for various time intervals. Clear evidence is presented for a change in the value of the high-energy cutoff in the mean source electron spectrum with time. We also show how the construction of the injected electron spectrum F₀(E₀) (assuming that Coulomb collisions in a cold target dominate the electron transport) is facilitated by the use of higher-order regularization methods.     

Einige Bemerkungen zur Tektonik der Berner Kalkalpen

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Assessing the west ridge of Luzon Strait as an internal wave mediator

The Luzon Strait is blocked by two meridional ridges at depths, with the east ridge somewhat higher than the west ridge in the middle reaches of the Strait. Previous numerical models identified the Luzon Strait as the primary generation site of internal M₂ tides entering the northern South China Sea (Niwa and Hibiya, 2004), but the role of the west-versus-east ridge was uncertain. We used a hydrostatic model for the northern South China Sea and a nonhydrostatic, process-oriented model to evaluate how the west ridge of Luzon Strait modifies westward propagation of internal tides, internal bores and internal solitary waves. The dynamic role of the west ridge depends strongly on the characteristics of internal waves and is spatially inhomogeneous. For M₂ tides, both models identify the west ridge in the middle reaches of Luzon Strait as a dampener of incoming internal waves from the east ridge. In the northern Luzon Strait, the west ridge is quite imposing in height and becomes a secondary generation site for M₂ internal tides. If the incoming wave is an internal tide, previous models suggested that wave attenuation depends crucially on how supercritical the west ridge slope is. If the incoming wave is an internal bore or internal solitary wave, our investigation suggests a loss of sensitivity to the supercritical slope for internal tides, leaving ridge height as the dominant factor regulating the wave attenuation. Mechanisms responsible for the ridge-induced attenuation are discussed.