Mineralogy and geochemistry of shallow sediments of Sonargaon, Bangladesh and implications for arsenic dynamics: Focusing on the role of organic matter

Mineralogy and geochemistry of modern shallow sediments (up to 5 m thick) within the zone of water table fluctuations were studied to determine the likely sources and processes responsible for releasing As into groundwater. Samples were collected from different geological settings with varying groundwater As concentrations during dry (December 2005) and wet (September 2006) seasons at Sonargaon, Bangladesh. Stratigraphic sequences of the studied sediments showed three distinct lithofacies, viz. clayey-silt, silty-clay, and silty-very fine sand, corresponding to fine-grained overbank associations. Total As concentrations of shallow sediments ranged from <1 to 16 mg/kg without a significant difference in the range of As concentrations between the seasons. Sequential chemical extraction analysis of As revealed that >80% of the As was fixed in insoluble and organic phases, while the amount of As in reducible and acid-soluble phases was very low (<20%) and varied inversely with total As content. Total As concentration varied with mica content (muscovite and biotite) and its related elements (Al, Mg and Fe), but not with total organic C, suggesting that biotite is the major host phase of As. Arsenic appears to be liberated from biotite and/or other As-bearing minerals via chemical weathering (i.e., hydration-decomposition), either from the near-surface sediments which are subject to seasonal cycling of the redox conditions, or from within the aquifer sediments. Once released, progressive diagenesis to form As-bearing organic matter may be responsible for controlling As distribution in the sediments and coexisting groundwater of the study area.     

Magnetic properties of the Fe2SiO4-Fe3O4 spinel solid solutions

 Magnetic measurement of Fe_{3− x} Si _x O₄ spinel solid solutions indicates that their Curie temperatures decrease gradually, but not linearly, from 851 to 12 K with increasing content of nonmagnetic ions Si⁴⁺. Magnetic hysteresis becomes more noticeable in solid solutions having a larger content of Fe₂SiO₄. Saturation magnetizations of Fe_{3− x} Si _x O₄ samples increase up to x=0.357 and they are easily saturated in the field of H=0.1 T. However, magnetization of the sample of x=0.794 does not approach saturation even at high field of H=7.0 T and has a large coercive force. The Si⁴⁺ disordered distribution is confirmed to be ^tetr[Fe³⁺ _{1− x + x t} Si⁴⁺ _{x (1− t )}] ^octa[Fe²⁺ _{1+ x} Fe³⁺ _{1− x − x t} Si⁴⁺ _{x t} ] O₄ by the spin moment, which is consistent with site occupancy obtained from X-ray crystal structure refinement. Their molecular magnetizations would be expressed as M _B={4(1+x)+10xt}μ_B as functions of composition parameter x and Si⁴⁺ ordering parameter t of the solid solution. The sample of x=0.794 is antiferromagnetic below the Néel temperature, mainly due to the octahedral cation interaction M _O–M _O, while both M _T–M _O and M _O–M _O interactions induce a ferrimagnetic property. Concerning magnetic spin configuration, in the case of x>0.42, the lowest dɛ level becomes a singlet, resulting in no orbital angular momentum. Received: 20 April 2000 / Accepted: 11 September 2000     

Strong ground motion simulation during the November 1759 Earthquake along Serghaya Fault in the metropolitan of Damascus, Syria

The seismic hazard potential for metropolitan of Damascus, Syria is mainly controlled by earthquakes along Serghaya Fault which is a branch of Dead Sea Fault System. In this study, strong ground motion due to the November 1759 Earthquake along the fault of Serghaya was estimated with a numerical simulation technique. In the simulation, the Kostrov-like slip-velocity function was used as an input to the discrete wave number method to simulate the strong ground motions in a broadband frequency range. In order to model the incoherent rupture propagation which can excite large high-frequency waves, random numbers are added to arrival time of circular rupture front. MMI intensities calculated from the synthetic ground motions are compared with the observed values by Ambraseys and Barazangi (J Geophys Res 94:4007-4013, 1989). The calculated intensities are in good agreement with the observed ones at the most sites that validate appropriateness of the proposed source model. The PGA and PGV in the eastern region of Damascus city are higher than those in the western region due to the effects of local site amplification. The simulated high-frequency (1.0–6.0 Hz) ground motions for the sites in the Damascus city are higher than the design requirements defined by the Syrian building code. Furthermore, the simulated high-frequency ground motions for sites in the focal region are bigger than the design requirements in the case of the near-fault factors and are not considered. That demonstrates the appropriateness of considering the near-fault factors for a site near the focal region as introduced by the new building code.     

Physiological acclimation by phytoplankton explains observed changes in Si and N uptake rates during the SERIES iron-enrichment experiment

During the SERIES iron-enrichment experiment in the eastern subarctic Pacific, after addition of iron and its subsequent depletion, the Si:N drawdown ratio increased at approximately the time that diatoms became iron limited. Laboratory studies have reported that this results from a decrease in the rate of N uptake together with a more moderate decrease in the rate of Si uptake for iron-limited cultures compared to iron-replete cultures. However, for SERIES Boyd et al. (Limnol. Oceanogr. 50 (2005)) reported an unexplained increase in the rate of Si uptake at the onset of iron limitation and suggested that studies of nutrient uptake kinetics should be undertaken in search of an explanation. We compare the classic Michealis–Menten (MM) kinetics to the recently developed optimal uptake (OU) kinetics (the SPONGE: Smith and Yamanaka. Limnol. Oceanogr. 52 (2007)) within a variable-composition model, which employs cell quotas for each relevant nutrient, applied to the multi-element (C, N, Si, Fe) dynamics during SERIES. Using the Monte Carlo Markov Chain, we fit two versions of the model (differing only in the equations for nutrient uptake) to the available data for nutrient concentrations, chlorophyll, biogenic silica and particulate organic carbon and specific growth rates.With either uptake kinetics, the model reproduces observed concentrations well for nutrients and somewhat less well for chlorophyll. The different uptake kinetics yield greater differences in modeled elemental composition of phytoplankton and biomass of phytoplankton and zooplankton, which are not directly constrained by data. MM kinetics cannot reproduce the observed increase in Si uptake rate as a function of the decreasing trend in concentration of silicic acid, and it predicts Si limitation throughout nearly all of the experiment after iron-fertilization. In contrast, OU kinetics reproduces the increase in Si uptake rate and matches the observation-based estimate for the timing of the return to iron limitation. The key assumption of the SPONGE, that uptake rates of all nutrients depend on physiological acclimation by phytoplankton as a function of the ambient concentration of the growth-limiting nutrient, was originally formulated for modeling chemostat experiments. We show that it also agrees with the observations from this field experiment and provides an explanation for the increases in Si uptake rate and Si:N drawdown ratio.     

Additional flux arising from unresolved scales in eddying ocean models

An analysis is presented of snapshot data (eastward and northward velocity components: u and v; tracer such as potential temperature: τ) from an eddy-resolving (Rgrid: 1/12°) ocean model experiment, in order to explore a method for improving eddy-permitting model performance. Horizontal 3 × 3 R-grid averages give the eddy-permitting grid (P-grid: 1/4°) variables: 〈u〉, 〈v〉, and 〈τ〉, where 〈〉 denotes the spatial P-grid scale average. The difference between the horizontal tracer flux across the boundary face of a P-grid and that across the corresponding faces of R-grids is estimated as F_2E. It is found that the correlations among the gradients of u, v, and τ give a good approximation F_2C to the estimated flux F_2E. The approximated flux is a function of these gradients and the grid size. A method is presented for implementing the F_2C for density to an eddying ocean model as an additional advection. Practical experiments were conducted with a realistic configuration. It is shown that the zonal mean isotherms in the Kuroshio extension region are more flattened in the run using the proposed method than in another run using the conventional horizontal biharmonic operator, suggesting that the additional flux correction leads to an enhancement of sub-basin scale mixing.     

Identification of the fronts from the Kuroshio Extension to the Subarctic Current using absolute dynamic topographies in satellite altimetry products

The climatologies and variabilities of the fronts associated with the Kuroshio Extension (KE), the Kuroshio Extension Northern Branch (KENB), the flow along the Subarctic Boundary (SAB), and the Subarctic Current (SAC) are identified by a new method based on the absolute dynamic height product from the archiving, validation, and interpretation of satellite oceanographic data (the AVISO product). The fronts are detected by examining the specific contour values of the absolute dynamic topography (ADT) in the AVISO product. The (time-varying) specific contour values are decided from the local maxima of the averaged surface geostrophic velocity along the ADT. Assuming the specific contours as the front locations, we obtain an occurrence frequency map of the four front locations, and determine the monthly variability of the fronts over the 1993–2015 period. The results are validated by hydrographic observations. The KE and KENB east of the Shatsky Rise migrate southward several times at a speed of ~ 0.2 cm s^?1, while the SAB and SAC are mostly stationary.     

Development of a new operational system for monitoring and forecasting coastal and open-ocean states around Japan

We developed a new system to monitor and forecast coastal and open-ocean states around Japan for operational use by the Japan Meteorological Agency. The system consists of an eddy-resolving analysis model based on four-dimensional variational assimilation and a high (2-km) resolution forecast model covering Japanese coastal areas that incorporates an initialization scheme with temporal and spatial filtering. Assimilation and forecast experiments were performed for 2008 to 2017, and the results were validated against various observation datasets. The assimilation results captured well the observed variability in sea surface temperature, coastal sea level, volume transport, and sea ice. Furthermore, the volume budget for the Japan Sea was significantly improved by the use of the 2-km resolution forecast model compared with the 10-km resolution analysis model. The forecast results indicate that this system has a predictive limit longer than 1 month in many areas, including in the Kuroshio current area south of Japan and the southern Japan Sea. In the forecast results of case studies, the 2017 Kuroshio large meander was well predicted, and warm water intrusions accompanying Kuroshio path variations south of Japan were also successfully reproduced. Sea ice forecasts for the Sea of Okhotsk largely captured the evolution of sea ice in late winter, but sea ice in early winter included relatively large errors. This system has high potential to meet operational requirements for monitoring and forecasting ocean phenomena at both meso- and coastal scales.

     

Clinopyroxene-perovskite phase transition of FeGeO3 under high pressure and room temperature

In order to confirm the possible existence of FeGeO₃ perovskite, we have performed in situ X-ray diffraction measurements of FeGeO₃ clinopyroxene at pressures up to 40 GPa at room temperature. The transition of FeGeO₃ clinopyroxene into orthorhombic perovskite is observed at about 33GPa. The cell parameters of FeGeO₃ perovskite are a=4.93(2) Å, b=5.06(6) Å, c=6.66(3) Å and V=166(3) ų at 40 GPa. On release of pressure, the perovskite phase transformed into lithium niobate structure. The previously reported decomposition process of clino-pyroxene into Fe₂GeO₄ (spinel)+GeO₂ (rutile) or FeO (wüstite) +GeO₂ (rutile) was not observed. This shows that the transition of pyroxene to perovskite is kinetically accessible compared to the decomposition processes under low-temperature pressurization.     

Molecular dynamics study of pressure-induced transformation of quartz-type GeO2

We simulated quartz-type GeO₂ and investigated its high-pressure transformation using the molecular dynamics (MD) simulation method with a model potential. The calculated results under hydrostatic compression indicated that a pressure-induced amorphization of quartz-type GeO₂ originated from the mechanical instability of the quartz lattice as, in previous theoretical studies of SiO₂. Furthermore, quartz-type GeO₂ directly transformed to a rutile-like structure with only subtle displacements of ions under σ _{x y} imposed shear stressed decompression. This is the first reproduction of the quartz-to-rutile transformation. A possible pathway of this transition is proposed in this study. Received: 14 April 1999 / Revised, accepted: 11 August 1999     

Crystal structures of Ni2SiO4 and Fe2SiO4 as a function of temperature and heating duration

X-ray structure refinements of Ni₂SiO₄ and Fe₂SiO₄ spinels have been made as a function of temperature and heating duration by intensity measurements at high temperatures and room pressure. The lattice parameters of Ni₂SiO₄ spinel linearly increased with temperature up to 1,000° C. However, Fe₂SiO₄ spinel exhibited a nonlinear thermal expansion and was converted to a polycrystalline mixture of spinel and olivine by heating of less than one-hour at 800° C. The ratios between the octahedral and tetrahedral bond lengths D _oct/D _tetr and between the shared and unshared edge distances (O-O)_sh/(O-O)_unsh in Fe₂SiO₄ spinel were both much larger than those in Ni₂SiO₄. These ratios increase with temperature. The Fe₂SiO₄ spinel more readily approached a activation state which facilitated the transition to the olivine structure than the Ni₂SiO₄ spinel. The lattice parameter of Ni₂SiO₄ spinel decreased with heating period at constant temperatures of 700° C and 800° C. The parameter of the quenched sample after heating for 52 h at 700° C was smaller than that of the nonheated sample. The refinements of the site occupancies at each heating duration indicated an increase in the cation deficiency in both tetrahedral and octahedral sites. Electron microprobe analysis, however, proved no significant difference in the chemical compositions between the quenched and nonheated samples. Si and Ni atoms displaced from normally occupied spinel lattice sites are assumed to settle in vacant sites defined by the cubic close packed oxygen sublattice in a manner which preserves the electric neutrality of the bulk crystal.