能源与全球环境

目前,“可再生能源”这个词已进入技术发展的阶段。我们目前利用的能源是不可再生的。我们生活在都市中。由于太阳光照射1小时的能量即可满足我们一年的能源需要,今后的能源利用必定要考虑太阳能。利用地球内部的热量梯度即地热能在今后亦是诱人的。原子能尤其是聚变能的潜力极大,但尚没有迹象表明,人类非得将精力消耗在利用裂变能上不可,尽管目前这方面的技术有被滥用的趋势。     

Seismic Hazard Studies in the U.K.: Source Specification Problems of Intraplate Seismicity

Although the U.K. is in an area of only low to moderate seismicity, the seismic hazard is sufficient to pose a threat to sensitive structures such as chemical plants and nuclear facilities. In quantifying the level of hazard by conventional probabilistic methodology, however, some problems arise in attempting to interpret earthquake data in terms of geological structure and faults. In the U.K., not only is it impossible to identify any demonstrably active faults, but also it is extremely difficult to discern any relationship between the pattern of seismicity and local or regional geological structure.This study discusses the use of two zonation approaches which complement each other in such a way that the general character and trend of seismicity is preserved. In one approach, the zonation is informed by the structural geology, where possible; geological zonation is avoided if it produces sources with heterogeneous seismicity. In the other approach, the record of past earthquakes is divided up into very small zones around individual epicentres or groups of epicentres, the size of each zone usually being proportional to the uncertainty in the epicentral determination of the appropriate event. This zonation preserves an observed tendency of some British earthquakes to repeat themselves. It is suggested that, in intraplate areas such as the U.K., it is often inappropriate to attempt to model individual fault sources. No faults in the U.K. are provably active. Because an earthquake of moderate size can occur on a very short fault segment, it is impractical to restrict fault modelling to major features. Even the two largest U.K. faults, suspected to be active, pose problems in attributing historical seismicity to them as distinct features.     

Weathering of phlogopite in simulated bioleaching solutions

The purpose of this study was to examine structural alterations of finely ground phlogopite, a trioctahedral mica, when exposed to acid, iron- and sulfate-rich solutions typical of bioleaching systems. Phlogopite suspensions were supplemented with ferrous sulfate and incubated with iron- and sulfur-oxidizing bacteria (Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans) at 22 °C. As bacteria oxidized ferrous iron, ferric iron thus formed partially precipitated as K-jarosite. K-jarosite precipitation was contingent on the preceding ferrous iron oxidation by bacteria and the release of interlayer-K from phlogopite. This chemically and microbially induced weathering involved alteration of phlogopite to a mixed layer structure that included expansible vermiculite. The extent of phlogopite weathering and structure expansion varied with duration of the contact, concentration of ferrous iron and phlogopite, and the presence of monovalent cations (NH₄⁺, K⁺, or Na⁺) in the culture solution. NH₄⁺ and K⁺ ions (100 mM) added to culture suspensions precipitated as jarosite and thereby effectively prevented the loss of interlayer-K and structural alteration of phlogopite. Additional Na⁺ (100 mM) was insufficient to precipitate ferric iron as natrojarosite and therefore the precipitation was coupled with interlayer-K released from phlogopite. When ferrous iron was replaced with elemental sulfur as the substrate for A. ferrooxidans, the weathering of phlogopite was based on chemical dissolution without structural interstratification. The results demonstrate that iron oxidation and the concentration and composition of monovalent ions can have an effect on mineral weathering in leaching systems that involve contact of phlogopite and other mica minerals with acid leach solutions.     

A new procedure for separating and measuring radiogenic isotopes (U, Th, Pa, Ra, Sr, Nd, Hf) in ice cores

A new method for the radiogenic isotope (U–Th–Pa–Ra, Sr, Nd, Hf) analysis of the soluble and insoluble components found within ice cores is presented. Melting experiments with rock standards in the presence of EDTA indicate that carbonates, as well as silicates, can be buffered sufficiently to preclude dissolution. The use of EDTA allows adsorbing species, such as Th and Hf, to remain in solution during melting thus fully separating the dust (insoluble) and sea salt (soluble) components of the ice after filtration. A new elemental separation scheme for low sample masses, less than 5 mg solid material, utilizes 4 primary ion exchange columns and two “clean-up” columns to fully isolate U, Th, Pa, Ra, Sr, Nd, and Hf while maintaining high yields. Elution schemes measured for USGS rock standards and a Chinese loess are presented to provide a comparison for variable matrix compositions. Mass spectrometer techniques were modified to measure small aliquots of the standards, equivalent to the amounts found in ice core samples, 10 ng and less. A MC-ICPMS was employed for the measurement of U, Th, Pa, Ra, and Hf; results of the experiments show that with ion yields up to 1%, rock standards have errors for ²³⁴U/²³⁸U of 1%, ²³⁰Th/²³²Th of 1.5%, [²²⁸Ra] of 9%, and ¹⁷⁶Hf/¹⁷⁷Hf of 100 ppm. MC-TIMS measurements of Sr and Nd show similar errors for small sample sizes: ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr of 50 ppm and ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd of 80 ppm. This new analytical method increases the number of possible tracers measured from a single sample, reducing separation times and sample consumption, as well as providing the addition of a radiometric clock, U-series, to the traditional suite of isotopic tracers, Sr, Nd, and Hf.     

Dawn; the Vesta–HED connection; and the geologic context for eucrites,diogenites, and howardites

The Dawn mission has provided new evidence strengthening the identification of asteroid Vesta as the parent body of the howardite, eucrite, and diogenite (HED) meteorites. The evidence includes Vesta's petrologic complexity, detailed spectroscopic characteristics, unique space weathering, diagnostic geochemical abundances and neutron absorption characteristics, chronology of surface units and impact history, occurrence of exogenous carbonaceous chondritic materials in the regolith, and dimensions of the core, all of which are consistent with HED observations and constraints. Global mapping of the distributions of HED lithologies by Dawn cameras and spectrometers provides the missing geologic context for these meteorites, thereby allowing tests of petrogenetic models and increasing their scientific value.     

Towards error‐free hybrid simulation using mixed variables

Two procedures are developed and implemented in a hybrid simulation system (HSS) with the aim of enhancing the accuracy and reliability of the online, i.e. pseudo‐dynamic, test results. The first procedure aims at correcting the experimental systematic error in executing the displacement command signal. The error is calculated as the difference between command and feedback signals and correlated to the actuator velocity using the least‐squares method. A feed‐forward error compensation scheme is devised leading to a more accurate execution of the test. The second procedure employs mixed variables with mode switching between displacement and force controls. The newly derived force control algorithm is evaluated using a parametric study to assess its stability and accuracy. The implementation of the mixed variables procedure is designed to adopt force control for high stiffness states of the structural response and displacement control otherwise, where the resolution of the involved instruments may favour this type of mixed control. A simple pseudo‐dynamic experiment of steel cantilever members is used to validate the HSS. Moreover, two experiments as application examples for the two developed procedures are presented. The two experiments focus on the seismic response of (a) timber shear walls and (b) reinforced concrete frames with and without unreinforced masonry infill wall. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Particle size dependent response of aerosol counters

During an international workshop at the Institute for Experimental Physics of the University of Vienna, Austria, which was coordinated within the Committee on Nucleation and Atmospheric Aerosols (IAMAS-IUGG), 10 instruments for aerosol number concentration measurement were studied, covering a wide range of methods based on various different measuring principles. In order to investigate the detection limits of the instruments considered with respect to particle size, simultaneous number concentration measurements were performed for monodispersed aerosols with particle sizes ranging from 1.5 to 50 nm diameter and various compositions.The instruments considered show quite different response characteristics, apparently related to the different vapors used in the various counters to enlarge the particles to an optically detectable size. A strong dependence of the 50% cutoff diameter on the particle composition in correlation with the type of vapor used in the specific instrument was found. An enhanced detection efficiency for ultrafine hygroscopic sodium chloride aerosols was observed with water operated systems, an analogous trend was found for n-butanol operated systems with nonhygroscopic silver and tungsten oxide particles.     

西藏羊八井热田地热流体成因及演化的惰性气体制约

地热流体中惰性气体的相对丰度和同位素组成，不仅可以揭露热田的热源性质，而且还能够揭示深，浅层地热流体的内在联系和演化过程等。在西藏羊八井热田的地热气体中，已检测出大量的^4He组分，3He/^4He值是大气的0．087－0．259倍，表明深部地壳物质的局部熔融为热田提供能量，浅层地热流体的3He/4He 值自西北向东南呈降低趋势，与热储温度的变化相一致，反映出侧向运移时补充了更多的壳源氦，热田北区深层地热流体具有稍高的3He/4He值，是浅层地热流体的母源，气体中氪和氙的相对丰度具有大气降水成因的特征，结合现有的实际资料，建立了热田地热流体的概念模型。