Brønsted reactions on oxide mineral surfaces and the temperature-dependence of their dissolution rates

The pH-dependence of oxide dissolution rates is controlled by Brønsted acid-base reactions at the mineral surface. These reactions are rapid but depend explicitly on temperature, as do the subsequent slow rates of bond hydrolysis. The net result is that dissolution rates vary in a complicated fashion with temperature and solution pH. The enthalpy changes of acid-base reactions on oxide materials are sufficiently similar, however, that general statements can be made about their contribution. The enthalpy changes from proton adsorption to a hydroxyl functional group (SOH), or to a deprotonated functional group (SO ^–), are generally exothermic. The enthalpy changes become increasingly endothermic, however, as charge accumulates on the mineral surface and the charged species interact electrostatically. The result is that mineral dissolution rates are least sensitive to temperature, as measured with an Arrhenius-like rate law, at pH conditions near the Point of Zero Net Proton Charge.     

Interpolation by regularized spline with tension: I. Theory and implementation

Bivariate and trivariate functions for interpolation from scattered data are derived. They are constructed by explicit minimization of a general smoothness functional, and they include a tension parameter that controls the character of the interpolation function (e.g., for bivariate case the surface can be tuned from a membrane to a thin steel plate), Tension can be applied also in a chosen direction, for modeling of phenomena with a simple type of anisotropy. The functions have regular derivatives of all orders everywhere. This makes them suitable for analysis of surface geometry and for direct application in models where derivatives are necessary. For processing of large datasets (thousands of data points), which are now common in geosciences, a segmentation algorithm with a flexible size of overlapping neighborhood is presented. Simple examples demonstrating flexibility and accuracy of the functions are presented.On leave from the Department of Physical Geography and Cartography, Comenius University, Mlynská dolina, Bratislava, Czechoslovakia.On leave from the Institute of Physics, Dúbravská cesta 9, Bratislava, Czechoslovakia.     

Impact cratering - a review,with special reference to the economic importance of impact structures and the Southern African impact crater record

Only since several decades has impact cratering been recognized as an important surface process on all planetary bodies in the Solar System. However, as the process has not yet been effectively introduced into geological curricula, it is necessary to inform a wider public about its importance for (i) planetary formation and (ii) evolution, (iii) the understanding of this process as a geological process, (iv) the terrestrial impact crater record and its limitations, and (v) the recognition criteria for terrestrial impact structures, as well as (vi) the need of improvement of the impact cratering record in the light of the potential danger of an impact catastrophe on this planet. It is, particularly for developing countries, of interest to examine the economic and educational-environmental potential of impact structures. That it is possible to carry out an effective, low-budget geological investigation of impact structures within a Second World environment is demonstrated by the discussion of the progress that has been made in recent years with regard to the Southern African impact crater record. Several recommendations on how to improve, on the one hand, the terrestrial impact crater record and, on the other, their general working situation by activation of workers in Developing Countries are discussed.     

The gawler ranges,South Australia: an unusual volcanic massif

The volcanic residuals of the Gawler Ranges together form an extensive massif that in its gross morphology differs markedly from most exposures of silicic volcanic rocks. The upland developed in two stages, the first involving differential fracture‐controlled subsurface weathering, the second the stripping of the regolith. As a result, an irregular weathering front was exposed, with domical projections prominent. These bornhardts are etch forms, and they are of considerable antiquity.

The differential weathering of the rock mass reflects the exploitation of various fracture systems by shallow groundwaters. Orthogonal fracture systems at various scales, sheet fractures and columnar joints control the morphology of the bornhardts in gross and in detail.

The exploitation of the structural base, which was established in the Middle Protero‐zoic, probably took place throughout the Late Proterozoic and the Palaeozoic, though only minor remnants of the Proterozoic land surface remain. The major landscape features developed during the Mesozoic. The weathering which initiated the bornhardts occurred in the Jurassic or earlier Mesozoic, and the landforms were exposed in Late Cretaceous to Early Tertiary times.

Though structural forms dominate the present landscape, some major and some minor landforms are best explained in terms of climatic changes of the later Cainozoic. The palaeodrainage system, established under humid conditions by the Early Tertiary, was alluviated during the Cainozoic arid phases, and salinas were formed. The sand dunes of the region also reflect this aridity.     

Chrysophyte stomatocyst taxonomy — classification of snowflakes?

The utility of classifying chrysophyte stomatocysts by their characteristic honeycomb and ridge patterns is questioned, because a strikingly similar expanding pattern appears on the surface of ionized polymer gels during osmotical swelling as a result of simple physical forces. The rapid accumulation of silicate into a spherical cyst inside a chrysophyte cell appears to be as a physical process sufficiently similar to result in an analogous pattern in microscopic scale. Chrysophyte stomatocysts that possess honeycomb or ridge patterns could be regarded as frozen moments of the pattern evolution during the silicate gel phase. As a consequence, such structures should have little taxonomical value.     

突发性地面增温与临震前兆——以1988年澜沧、耿马7.6,7.2级地震为例

本文通过较多的地面温度资料分析,认为1988年11月6日澜沧、耿马地震前几天,震区及其周围大范围的突发性地面增温异常是一种临震前兆,总结了增温异常的时空演变规律与地震活动的关系,并对其形成机制提出初步想法     

Chemical aspects of iron oxide coagulation in water: Laboratory studies and implications for natural systems

Initial coagulation rates of colloidal hematite (-Fe₂O₃) particles (diameter less than 0.1 µm) were measured experimentally in well-defined laboratory systems at constant temperature. The relative stability ratio,W, was obtained at various ionic strengths in NaCl medium and at pH values in the range from 3 to 12. ExperimentalW values ranged from 1 to 10⁴ in various systems. The results delineate the roles ofspecific andgeneralized coagulation mechanisms for iron oxides. Among the specifically-interacting species (G _ads ⁰ >G _coul ⁰ ) studied were phosphate, monomeric organic acids of various structures, and polymeric organic acids. The critical coagulation-restabilization concentrations of specifically-interacting anions (from 10^–7 to 10^–4 molar) can be compared with the general effects of non-specific electrolyte coagulants (10^–3 to 10^–1 molar). The laboratory results are interpreted with the help of a Surface Complex Formation/Diffuse Layer Model (SCF/DLM) which describes variations of interfacial charge and potential resulting from variations of coagulating species in solution. Comparison of these laboratory experiments with observations on iron behavior in estuarine and lake waters aids in understanding iron removal mechanisms and coagulation time scales in natural systems.     

Environmental impacts from mining at Taojiang Mn ore deposit, central Hunan, China

The Taojiang Mn ore deposit was exploited in the early 1960s, and waste rocks were developed since then. Because the Mn ores were hosted within the metal-enriched black shales （Peng et al., 2004）, the continuous mining has led to the exposure of an immense quality of black shales, which might cause serious impacts on environments. The present study deals with this environmental issue with samples from the waste rocks, and from the surrounding soils and surface water. The mineralogy of the waste rock was studied using EMPA, then a large number of elements in all waste rock, soil, and water samples were analyzed at a wide range of concentrations with high accuracy using an Elan6000 ICP-MS machine at Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences. The waste rock is composed mostly of black shales, with minor Mn carbonates. Both black shales and Mn carbonates of the waste rock contain many sulfide minerals, mainly pyrite, with minor galena, sphalerite, chalcopyrite, and others. The waste rocks are enriched in many metals including Sc, V, Cr, Co, Ni, Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, Pb, Th, U, Mo, Sb, Sn, Tl, and others, and the metals are mostly hosted within the sulfides. Weathering of waste rocks might cause emission of the following metals： V, Cd, Ni, Th, U, Mo, Sb, Tl, Sc, Cr, Cu, Zn, Sn, and minor Co, and Pb. The surrounding soils are highly enriched in Cr, Co, Cu, Zn, Mn, Mo, Cd, Tl, and Pb, with the enrichment factors of 2.67.3.8, 7.26, 7.27, 8.2, 5.7, 13, and 5.4, respectively. The element ratios （Rb/Cs, Fe/Mn, Nb/Zr, Hf/Zr, and Ba/Sr） and REE distribution patterns of the soils are similar to those of the waste rocks and bedrocks.     

Speciation of adsorbed arsenate on the surface of hydrous iron oxide

Adsorption of arsenate on hydrous iron oxide is an important process controlling geochemical cycling of arsenic in environment as well as the fate of arsenic-bearing mining wastes. The widely accepted view on the mechanism of adsorption is that arsenate is adsorbed via bidentate binuclear inner-sphere complexation. In this study, we characterized the arsenate-hydrous iron oxide sorption solids synthesized at pH=3-8 using Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy （FTIR） and X-ray diffraction （XRD）. It has been determined that poorly crystalline ferric arsenate developed on the surface of iron oxide when arsenate was sorbed at acidic pH, while at alkaline pH the adsorption of arsenate was via bidentate complexation.