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.     

On some problems of seismic crustal phase

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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.     

近45 a来中国西北年极端高、低温的变化及对区域性增暖的响应

利用中国西北五省(区)1960-2004年129个台站逐日最低、最高温度资料,从中统计出年极端高温发生频次、年极端低温发生频次、年极端高温强度、年极端低温强度以及年极端高温和低温开始和结束日期,分析了它们近45 a来的变化情况。结果表明:近45 a来中国西北年极端高温发生频次的增加趋势是明显的,而年极端低温发生频次的减少趋势更显著;中国西北近45 a来年极端高温的强度在不断增强,而极端低温的强度在不断减弱;近45 a来中国西北年极端高温开始日期逐渐提前,结束日期逐渐推迟,而年极端低温的开始日期在逐渐推迟,结束日期在逐渐提前;年极端低温发生频次的减少对于西北区域增暖的响应比年极端高温发生频次增加更显著,而年极端低温强度的减弱要比年极端高温强度的增强对西北区域性增暖的响应偏弱,年极端高温发生频次的增加同年极端高温强度的增强对西北区域性增暖的响应程度基本相当。