Composition and Useful Properties of Tailings of Marine Manganese Nodules and Crusts

Marine manganese nodules and crusts, when processed, yield tailings which may be utilized for environmental and economic benefit. The key to the reasonable and effective utilization of these tailings lies in making a systematic appraisal of their composition and properties. This article gives an introduction to the investigation of manganese tailings properties. The tailings have a high iron and/or manganese content, high surface area, high porosity, and fine grain size. Some tailings have a high rare earth element content which is valuable. They may also have high SO₃, arsenic, and uranium contents which are harmful. Depending on the process used to produce the tailings, there will likely be some differences in chemical composition, mineral assemblages, surface area and adsorption capability, pore diameter and volume, density and pH. In assigning potentially beneficial applications for these tailings, these differences should be taken into account to optimize utilization.     

Theory and Practice of Soft Clay Engineering

-The shear strength and deformation properties of soft clay are discussed first. Then some methods for predicting the performance of soft clay foundation are proposed. Finally, case histories are presented to illustrate some discussed aspects of soft clay.     

An overview of the Oyashio ecosystem

The Oyashio shelf region and the seasonally ice-covered areas north of Hokkaido are highly productive, supporting a wide range of species including marine mammals, seabirds and commercially important species in the western subarctic Pacific. The fishes include gadids, such as walleye pollock and Pacific cod, and subarctic migratory pelagic fishes such as chum salmon and pink salmon. It is also an important summer feeding ground for subtropical migrants such as the Japanese sardine, Japanese anchovy, Pacific saury, mackerels, Japanese common squid, whales and seabirds. In recent decades, some components of the Oyashio ecosystem (i.e., phytoplankton, mesozooplankton, gadid fish, and subtropical migrants) have shown changes in species abundance or distribution that are correlated with environmental changes such as the 1976/1977 and 1988/1989 regime shifts. The First Oyashio Intrusion moved northward from the mid-1960s until the late 1970s, when it moved southward until the 1980s, after which it returned to the north again after the mid-1990s. The sea-surface temperature in spring decreased after the late 1970s, increased after the late 1980s, and remained high during the 1990s. The extent of ice cover in the Sea of Okhostk also decreased during the latest warming in the 1980–1990s but has increased again since the late 1990s. This and other variabilities affect the Oyashio ecosystem and the surrounding region.     

论氢化物的形成及其在分析测试领域的应用

论述了氢化物形成的普遍性、氢化物的物理化学性质、元素周期系各类元素的氢化物类型。认为一些金属离子、非金属离子在酸性介质中与硼氢化钾（钠）作用及金属锌等强还原剂作用生成氢化物。综述了氢化物的形成在分析测试领域的应用：试样分解、分离富集、容量分析、光度分析、原子光谱分析、质谱分析。     

四川稻城雄登寺-日霍脆韧性变形带的含矿性及其找矿意义

雄登寺-日霍脆韧性变形带呈近东西向展布,规模大。变形带内褐铁矿化蚀变强烈,化探异常发育,矿点、矿化点密集分布,成矿条件好,找矿潜力大。     

Strain localization due to structural in-homogeneities in the Central European Basin System

The large-scale crustal deformations observed in the Central European Basin System (CEBS) are the result of the interplay between several controlling factors, among which lateral rheological heterogeneities play a key role. We present a finite-element integral thin sheet model of stress and strain distribution within the CEBS. Unlike many previous models, this study is based on thermo-mechanical data to quantify the impact of lateral contrasts on the tectonic deformation. Elasto-plastic material behaviour is used for both the mantle and the crust, and the effects of the sedimentary fill are also investigated. The consistency of model results is ensured through comparisons with observed data. The results resemble the present-day dynamics and kinematics when: (1) a weak granite-like lower crust below the Elbe Fault System is modelled in contrast to a stronger lower crust in the area extending north of the Elbe Line throughout the Baltic region; and (2) a transition domain in the upper mantle is considered between the shallow mantle of the Variscan domain and the deep mantle beneath the East European Craton (EEC), extending from the Elbe Line in the south till the Tornquist Zone. The strain localizations observed along these structural contrasts strongly enhance the dominant role played by large structural domains in stiffening the propagation of tectonic deformation and in controlling the basin formation and the evolution in the CEBS.     

Micromechanics of the velocity and normal stress dependence of rock friction

Among the second-order effects on friction the most important are those of variable normal stress and of slip velocity. Velocity weakening, which is usually considered the source of the stick-slip instability in rock friction, has been observed in velocity stepping experiments with Westerly granite. The friction change, , was –0.01 to –0.008 for a tenfold velocity increase. Using normal closure measurements, we observed dilation upon each increase in sliding rate. We also observed, for the first time, time-dependent closure between surfaces during static loading. The dilation that occurred during the velocity stepping experiment was found to be that expected from the static time-dependent closure phenomenon. This change in closure was used to predict friction change with an elastic contact model. The calculated friction change which results from a change in contact area and asperity interlocking, is in good agreement with the observed velocity dependence of steady-state friction. Variable normal stress during sliding has two effects, first in creating new partial slip contacts and locking some existing fully sliding contacts and second in increasing interlocking, for instance when normal load is suddenly increased. As a result, a transient change in friction occurs upon a sudden change in normal load.     

Monte Carlo simulation of mixing in Ca3Fe2Ge3O12–Ca4Ge4O12 garnets and implications for the thermodynamic stability of pyrope–majorite solid solution

Static lattice energy calculations, based on empirical pair potentials, were performed for a large set of structures differing in the arrangement of octahedral cations within the garnet 2 × 2 × 2 supercell. The compositions of these structures varied between Ca₃Fe₂Ge₃O₁₂ and Ca₄Ge₄O₁₂. The energies were cluster expanded using pair and quaternary terms. The derived ordering constants were used to constrain Monte Carlo simulations of temperature-dependent mixing properties in the ranges of 1,073–3,673 K and 0–10 GPa. The free energies of mixing were calculated using the method of thermodynamic integration. The calculations predict a wide miscibility gap between Fe-rich (cubic) and Fe-pure (tetragonal) garnets consistent with recent experimental observations of Iezzi et al. (Phys Chem Miner 32:197–207, 2005). It is shown that the miscibility gap arises due to a very strong cation ordering at the Fe-pure composition, driven by the charge difference between Ca²⁺ and Ge⁴⁺ cations. The structural and thermodynamic analogies between Ca–Ge and Mg–Si systems suggest that a similar miscibility gap should exist between pyrope and Mg–Si-majorite.     

科尔沁沙地土地利用与耕作方式对土壤风蚀的影响

土壤风蚀造成的直接生态后果是土地资源的退化。在春播前两次沙尘暴事件中,对科尔沁沙地几种具有代表性的土地类型的土壤风蚀量及土壤特性进行了野外测定、分析,结果表明:(1)在同一沙尘暴天气下,由于土地利用和耕作方式的不同,土壤风蚀量存在着差异,新垦农地和翻耕农地的风蚀量显著高于未垦草地、免耕农地和麻黄地;免耕农地则与未垦草地的风蚀量相差不大,风蚀危害较轻;麻黄地几乎不受风蚀侵害。新垦农地、翻耕农地、免耕农地、未垦草地、麻黄地两次观测的土壤风蚀量平均值依次为24.59、15.60、2.26、1.46和0.22 g/h.cm2。(2)基于土壤特性计算的土壤退化指数结果表明,新垦农地和翻耕农地发生了较为严重的退化。