层间氧化带砂岩型铀矿稀土元素变化规律初探——以伊犁和吐鲁番-哈密盆地为例

本文以发育层间氧化带砂岩型铀矿的伊犁、吐鲁番—哈密盆地为例,详细研究了成矿层间氧化带稀土元素的分布特征和稀土元素在层间氧化作用中的变化规律。通过与北美页岩、还原带原生砂岩的对比,研究了稀土元素在不同氧化分带中的变化情况,结果表明在层间氧化作用过程中,稀土元素在总体亏损的背景上发生了明显的分异,LREE从氧化带到过渡带含量逐步降低,HREE由氧化带到过渡带趋于富集;δCe由氧化带到过渡带随氧化作用的减弱降低,δEu则逐步升高,呈现与表生风化作用相同的变化规律,较好地指示了层间氧化带中氧化—还原环境的变化。虽然稀土元素存在一定的迁移变化,但没有中亚砂岩铀矿床出现的REE显著迁移,高度富集现象。     

From models to performance assessment: the conceptualization problem

Today, models are ubiquitous tools for ground water analyses. The intent of this paper is to explore philosophically the role of the conceptual model in analysis. Selection of the appropriate conceptual model is an a priori decision by the analyst. Calibration is an integral part of the modeling process. Unfortunately a wrong or incomplete conceptual model can often be adequately calibrated; good calibration of a model does not ensure a correct conceptual model. Petroleum engineers have another term for calibration; they refer to it as history matching. A caveat to the idea of history matching is that we can make a prediction with some confidence equal to the period of the history match. In other words, if we have matched a 10-year history, we can predict for 10 years with reasonable confidence; beyond 10 years the confidence in the prediction diminishes rapidly. The same rule of thumb applies to ground water model analyses. Nuclear waste disposal poses a difficult problem because the time horizon, 1000 years or longer, is well beyond the possibility of the history match (or period of calibration) in the traditional analysis. Nonetheless, numerical models appear to be the tool of choice for analyzing the safety of waste facilities. Models have a well-recognized inherent uncertainty. Performance assessment, the technique for assessing the safety of nuclear waste facilities, involves an ensemble of cascading models. Performance assessment with its ensemble of models multiplies the inherent uncertainty of the single model. The closer we can approach the idea of a long history with which to match the models, even models of nuclear waste facilities, the more confidence we will have in the analysis (and the models, including performance assessment). This thesis argues for prolonged periods of observation (perhaps as long as 300 to 1000 years) before a nuclear waste facility is finally closed.     

Relationship between structures of substituted indolic compounds and their degradation by marine anaerobic microorganisms

Degradation of selected indolic compounds including indole, 1-methylindole, 2-methylindole, and 3-methylindole was assessed under methanogenic and sulfate-reducing conditions using the serum-bottle anaerobic technique and marine sediment from Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong as an inoculum. Our results showed that indole degradation was achieved in 28 days by a methanogenic consortium and 35 days by a sulfate-reducing consortium. During degradation under both conditions, two intermediates were isolated, purified and identified as oxindole and isatin (indole-2,3-dione) suggesting that both methanogenic and sulfate-reducing bacteria use an identical degradation pathway. Degradation processes followed two steps of oxidation accomplished by hydroxylation and then dehydrogenation at 2- and then 3-position sequentially prior to the cleavage of the pyrrole ring between 2- and 3-positions. However, none of 1-methylindole or 2-methylindole was degraded under any conditions. 3-Methylindole (3-methyl-1H-indole, skatole) was transformed under methanogenic conditions and mineralized only under sulfate-reducing conditions. It is clear that methyl substitution on 1- or 2-position inhibits the initial attack by hydroxylation enzymes making them more persistent in the environment and posing longer toxic impact.