H2S Emissions from a Submerged Pilot‐Scale Fixed Bed Biofilm Reactor

A study was performed in two submerged, pilot‐scale biofilm bioreactors operated under different conditions to determine the relationship between the operating parameters and H₂S emission. H₂S was always detected in the exhaust air at concentrations varying from 1 to 353 ppm_v. The specific aeration rate was the most influencing parameter, with As < 30 kg COD (dissolved oxygen concentrations <4 mg L^?1) increasing noticeably the H₂S production. The periodical removal of the accumulated sludge reduced H₂S emissions by ～14%.     

CHARACTERIZATION OF FOODS BY INEXACT RULES:THE SEXIA EXPERT SYSTEM

SEXIA is an expert system that uses a new methodological approach to identify foods,particularly oliveoils according to varieties,olive zones and denominations of origin.The methodological approachprovides identification tools,associating a confidence degree or a belief interval to the final hypotheses.The certainty factor and the Dempster-Shaffer theory,with some modifications,have been implementedin SEXIA.The computer can work with 50 chemical parameters whose data have previously beenacquired by the food analyst via a dialogue in the Spanish language.The system has been verified with144 olive oil samples.In this paper some results obtained for distinguishing the Arbequina variety fromother varieties using SEXIA and the BMDP stepwise discriminant analysis program are presented.Finally,promising directions for future research are suggested.     

Evidence for a differentiated crust in Solis Planum, Mars, from lithospheric strength and heat flow

Two independent sets of heat flow estimates provide constraints on the Hesperian-era surface and mantle heat flows, and the thickness of the heat-producing elements (HPE)-enriched upper crust, in the Solis Planum region of Mars. The calculations, which use the concentration of uppermost crust heat sources deduced from orbital gamma ray spectroscopy and soils geochemistry, are based on the effective elastic thickness of the lithosphere and the minimum depth of faults underlying winkle ridges. We find that, for the majority of analyzed settings, the HPE-enriched crust is thinner than the whole crust thickness in this region (∼65 km). Thus, our results strongly support a differentiated martian crust.     

Heat flow, lenticulae spacing, and possibility of convection in the ice shell of europa

Two opposing models to explain the geological features observed on Europa’s surface have been proposed. The thin-shell model states that the ice shell is only a few kilometers thick, transfers heat by conduction only, and can become locally thinner until it exposes an underlying ocean on the satellite’s surface. According to the thick-shell model, the ice shell may be several tens of kilometers thick and have a lower convective layer, above which there is a cold stagnant lid that dissipates heat by conduction. Whichever the case, from magnetic data there is strong support for the presence of a layer of salty liquid water under the ice. The present study was performed to examine whether the possibility of convection is theoretically consistent with surface heat flows of ∼100-200 mW m⁻², deduced from a thin brittle lithosphere, and with the typical spacing of 15-23 km proposed for the features usually known as lenticulae. It was obtained that under Europa’s ice shell conditions convection could occur and also account for high heat flows due to tidal heating of the convective (nearly isothermal) interior, but only if the dominant water ice rheology is superplastic flow (with activation energy of 49 kJ mol⁻¹; this is the rheology thought dominant in the warm interior of the ice shell). In this case the ice shell would be ∼15-50 km thick. Furthermore, in this scenario explaining the origin of the lenticulae related to convective processes requires ice grain size close to 1 mm and ice thickness around 15-20 km.     

Possibility of Convection for Diffusion (Newtonian) Viscosity in the Ice Shell of Europa?

Recent investigations into convection in Europa’s ice shell have been based on non-Newtonian (stress-dependent) or Newtonian (stress-independent) viscosity for water ice. However, despite the wide use of Newtonian convection, experimentally observed water ice flow is non-Newtonian, and analysis of stability against convection of the ice shell using updated flow laws has been only performed for non-Newtonian rheologies. Here we use the flow law proposed for diffusion creep to analyze the possibility of the onset of convection for Newtonian viscosity in relation to the thermal state of Europa. Our findings indicate that for diffusion creep convection might have started, but that significantly lower heat flows (and equivalently higher shell thicknesses) and/or grain sizes are required than for superplastic flow, which is the most probable flow mechanism if the ice shell is convective.     

Insights into the “tectonic topography” of the present-day landscape of the central Iberian Peninsula (Spain)

The landscape of today's central Iberian Peninsula has been shaped by ongoing tectonic activity since the Tertiary. This landscape comprises a mountain ridge trending E–W to NW–SE, the Central System, separating two regions of smooth topography: the basins of the rivers Duero and Tajo. In this study, we explore interrelationships between topography and tectonics in the central Iberian Peninsula. Regional landscape features were analysed using a digital elevation model (DEM). Slope gradients and slope orientations derived from the DEM were combined to describe topographic surface roughness. Topography trend-surfaces inferred from harmonic analysis were used to define regional topographic features. Low roughness emphasizes the smooth nature of the basins' topography, where surfaces of homogeneous slope gradient and orientation dominate. High roughness was associated with abrupt changes in gradient and slope orientation such as those affecting crests, valley bottoms and scarp edges present in the mountain chain and in some deep incised valleys in the basins. One of the applications of roughness mapping was its capacity to isolate incised valley segments. The area distribution of incised rivers shows their prevalence in the east. On a regional scale, the topographic surface can be described as a train of NE–SW undulations or waves of 20 km wavelength. These undulations undergo changes in direction and interruptions limited by N–S-trending breaks. E–W and NE–SW troughs and ridges clearly mark structural uplifts and depressions within the Central System. These structures are transverse to the compressive NW–SE stress field that controlled the deformation of the central Iberian Peninsula from the Neogene to the present. They represent the upper crustal folding that accommodates Alpine shortening. N–S breaks coincide with Late Miocene faults that control the basins' sedimentation. Further, associated palaeoseismic structures suggest the recent tectonic activity of N–S faults in the eastern part of the Tajo Basin. Apatite fission track analysis data for this area suggest the occurrence of a significant uplift episode from 7 to 10 Ma which induced the river incisions appearing in the roughness map. N–S and NE–SW faults could be seismogenic sources for the current moderate to low seismic activity of the east Tajo Basin and southeast Central System. Although N–S fault activity has already been established, we propose its significant contribution to shaping the landscape.     

Effective elastic thicknesses of the lithosphere in the Central Iberian Peninsula from heat flow: Implications for the rheology of the continental lithospheric mantle

The traditional view of the rheology of the continental lithosphere, sometimes known as the “jelly sandwich model”, consists of a strong upper crust, a weak lower crust, and a strong upper lithospheric mantle. Some authors argue, however, that the lithospheric mantle is weak and contributes little to the total strength and the effective elastic thickness of the lithosphere; this weakness is claimed to be due to the mantle being wet or subjected to temperatures higher than usually believed. This paper uses the relationship between rheology of the lithosphere and heat flow to calculate theoretical effective elastic thicknesses for three regions of the central Iberian Peninsula (the Duero Basin, the Spanish Central System and the Tajo Basin), taking into account the contribution of the crust and the lithospheric mantle, for dry and wet rheologies. We found that a wet peridotite rheology for the lithospheric mantle is generally consistent with independent (based on Bouguer coherence or flexural modeling) estimates of the effective elastic thickness for the study area, whereas a dry peridotite rheology cannot be reconciled with them. Moreover, the contribution of the mantle to the bending moment of the lithosphere, and therefore to both the effective elastic thickness and the total strength of the lithosphere, is important, and it may even be the dominant contribution. Therefore, the jelly sandwich model may be considered valid for the central Iberian Peninsula.     

Thermal isostasy and deformation of possible paleoshorelines on Mars

Variations in martian surface heat flow, similar to those observed in terrestrial continental tectonothermally stable areas, could result in elevation differences of kilometric scale through differential thermal isostasy. This effect is enhanced with the increase of heat sources located within the crust. Local differences in the thermal history of the Mars’ lithosphere could have appreciably distorted the original long-wavelength topography of putative martian paleoshorelines. So, this work shows that a paleoequipotential surface does not necessarily have to fit well a present-day equipotential surface when evaluating paleoshorelines through assessment of high-resolution topography.