Change in the magnetic properties of bituminous coal intruded by an igneous dike, Dutch Creek Mine, Pitkin County, Colorado

Magnetization measurements have been made on natural coke–coal samples collected at various distances from a felsic porphyry dike in a coal seam in Dutch Creek Mine, Colorado to help characterize the nature and distribution of the iron-bearing phases. The magnetization passes through a maximum at the coke-to-coal transition about 31 cm from the dike contact. The magnetic measurements support the geochemical data indicating that magmatic fluids along with a high-temperature gas pulse moved into the coal bed. Interaction of the magmatic fluids with the coal diminished the reducing power of the thermal gas pulse from the dike to a point about 24 cm into the coal. The hot reducing gas penetrated further and produced a high temperature (400–525°C) zone (at about 31 cm) just ahead of the magmatic fluids. Metallic iron found in this zone is the principal cause of the observed high magnetization. Beyond this zone, the temperature was too low to alter the coal significantly.     

Concentration of some platinum-group metals in coal

New data on some platinum group metals in coal indicate that the concentration of Pt is generally less than about 5 ppb, that of Pd is generally less than 1 ppb, and that of Rh is generally less than 0.5 ppb. No conclusive evidence was obtained concerning the mode of occurrence of these elements in coal.     

Mussel reefs on soft sediments: a severely reduced but important habitat for macroinvertebrates and fishes in New Zealand

Green-lipped mussels (Perna canaliculus) formed extensive reefs on soft sediments in sheltered embayments around northern New Zealand until overfishing and/or increased sediment input caused their virtual disappearance by 1980. To determine the role of mussel reefs as habitat for other animals, we located remnant soft-sediment reefs in five locations and compared the density, biomass, productivity and composition of mobile macroinvertebrate communities, and the density of small fishes associated with mussels, with fauna in the surrounding soft sediments. The mussel reefs had a distinct assemblage of macroinvertebrates, which had 3.5 times the density, 3.4 times the biomass and 3.5 times the productivity of surrounding areas. The density of small fishes was 13.7 times higher than in surrounding areas. These results show that soft-sediment mussel reefs support an abundant and productive fauna, highlighting the probable large loss of productivity associated with the historical decline in mussel habitat and the consequent desirability of restoration efforts.     

黔西南高砷煤中砷存在形式的初步研究

利用电子探针、扫描电镜_能谱分析、X衍射分析、低温灰化、透射电镜、X射线吸收精细结构分析、化学成分分析结果对黔西南高砷煤中砷的存在形式进行了初步研究 ,高砷煤中的砷主要以 5价 (含砷磷酸盐和砷酸盐 )的形式存在 ,少量砷以含砷硫化物如含砷黄铁矿、毒砂、雌黄 ( ?)形式存在 .在砷含量最高的H2样品中可能主要以有机砷的形式存在 .     

Preliminary study on the mode of occurrence of arsenic in high arsenic coals from southwest Guizhou Province

Coal samples from high arsenic coal areas have been analyzed by electron micropbe analyzer (EMPA), scanning electron microscopy with an energy dispersive X-ray analyzer (SEM-EDX), X-ray diffinction analysis (XRD), low temperature ashing (LTA), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS), instnunent neutron activation analysis (INAA) and wet chemical analysis. Although some As-bearing minerals such as pyrite, arsenopyrite, realgar (?), As-bearing sulfate, and As-bearing clays are found in the high arsenic coals, their contents do not account for the abundance of arsenic in the some coals. Analysis of the coal indicates that arsenic exists mainly in the form of A_s ⁵⁺ and A_s ³⁺, combined with compounds in the organic matrix. The occurrence of such exceptionally high arsenic contents in coal and the fact that the arsenic is dominantly organically associated are unique observations. The modes of occurrence of arsenic in high As-coals are discussed.     

恩施渔塘坝自然硒的发现及其初步研究

在湖北恩施渔塘坝发现了罕见的自然硒矿物，同一地域内产生自然硒矿物的规模和多种成因类型并存的现象为首次报道。按自然硒的形成环境和赋存条件可将其分为三种，分别是碳质硅质岩和硅质碳质页岩中的原生自然硒，表生环境氧化还原作用形成的自然硒和“石煤”自燃形成的自然硒晶体。自然硒矿物的发现将为硒的矿物学、矿床地球化学和环境地球化学提供新的认识和研究空间。     

Nitrogen in Chinese coals

Three hundred and six coal samples were taken from main coal mines of twenty-six provinces,autonomous regions,and municipalities in China,according to the resource distribution and coal-forming periods as well as the coal ranks and coal yields.Nitrogen was determined by using the Kjeldahl method at U.S.Geological Survey(USGS),which exhibit a normal frequency distribution.The nitrogen contents of over 90% Chinese coal vary from 0.52% to 1.41% and the average nitrogen content is recommended to be 0.98%.Nitrogen in coal exists primarily in organic form.There is a slight positive relationship between nitrogen content and coal ranking.     

Measured vertical noise directionality at five sites in the Western North Atlantic

Solutions were computed for the vertical ambient sea noise field directionality at five sites in the Western North Atlantic Ocean using data from a 26-hydrophone element array with a 358.4-foot aperture at a center depth of 1,000 feet. Results show that the low-frequency noise below 100 Hz is concentrated near the horizontal (50 to 93 percent of the noise power between /spl plusmn/15/spl deg/ of horizontal) and is apparently dependent on bottom loss and shipping density. The results in the band 200 to 380 Hz are a combination of sea state and shipping noise dependent. A noise field solution technique was developed involving noise cross spectral matrix inversions. This technique overcomes some of the drawbacks of previous techniques such as least mean square estimation and successive approximations.     

Semi-quantitative ion microprobe mass analyses of mineral-rich particles from the upper freeport coal

An ion microprobe mass analyzer (IMMA) has been used to analyze semi-quantitatively mineral-rich coal particles from two separate facies of the Upper Freeport coal bed. Accuracy is estimated to be ? 20% for those elements making up more than 0.1 wt.% of the particles and ? 50% for elements making up less than 0.1 wt.%. Using IMMA data, we found statistically significant differences between the two samples for five (Fe, Ca, Mn, Li, Ce) of the 25 elements detected. For Li and Mn the differences between the mineral-rich particles within samples were similar to differences found between samples on a whole-coal basis. For Ca and Fe, the differences are attributed to different modes of occurrence, and for Ce, the differences are probably due to an irregular distribution of an inorganic phase. We conclude that the IMMA can be used to obtain semi-quantitative data that may provide insight into the distribution and mode of occurrence of some of the elements in coal.