N2CH4z.sbnd;CO2 fluids during formation of the Dôme de l'Agout,France

The Dôme de l'Agout consists of an ellipsoidal mass of gneisses and migmatites emerging from a large area of chlorite-sericite schists. Fluid inclusions in syn-metamorphic quartz segregations are typically one-phase at room temperature. Analyses by gas chromatography indicate that their main constituents are N₂, CH₄ and CO₂; such compositions are confirmed by freezing studies on individual inclusions. Nitrogen contents of the inclusions range from 2 to 72 mol% and tend to increase with increasing degree of metamorphism. CH₄ and CO₂ show an erratic distribution with the exception of the lowest grade samples, which invariably have very high CO₂ contents. The origin of the nitrogen remains unsolved; however, it seems likely that the nitrogen was not produced by mineral reactions in the presently exposed rocks but came from an external source and moved from the centre of the dome outwards.     

COOLING RATES, SKY VIEW FACTORS AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTRA-URBAN AIR TEMPERATURE DIFFERENCES

Intra‐urban cooling rates were monitored for a year in the centre of Göteborg on the Swedish west coast. Five sites with different building geometry ‐ from dense canyon to open space ‐ within a radius of 300 m were analysed. Results showed two modes of cooling during the night. In the first mode, the cooling was site‐dependent ‐the open space cooled the most and the dense canyon the least. In the second mode, which began about 3–4 hours after sunset, all sites cooled at the same rate. Our hypothesis is that in the early part of the evening both radiative divergence and sensible heat dominate the cooling. However, as the evening progresses, a spatially homogeneous inversion is established which controls the radiative cooling, making the cooling independent of both surface geometry and surface type. From April to November the sites cooled rapidly around sunset and the cooling slowly decreased during the rest of the night. However, between December and March, the cooling was less intense, with an almost constant rate during the entire night. It has been suggested that this might be the result of the draining of stored solar heat during the summer and a continuous flux of anthropogenic heating during the winter.     

Reduction of inorganic compounds in autoclaves by using suspended cellulose

Autoclaves are closed vessels in which liquids can be heated above their ‘normal' boiling points. As a consequence the pressure will rise. This equipment has permitted a variety of processes like the syntheses of organics and the leaching of metal ores. Pressure technologies can be used for accelerating reactions, for specific syntheses or they offer an environmental or economical alternative for existing processes. Wet pressure oxidation of sewage sludge, an organic waste product, has become a proven technology. If less oxygen is added than stoichiometrically required for a complete oxidation, cellulose will break down by a different reaction mechanism, releasing electrons. Under these circumstances reduction of inorganic compounds is possible.     

Geochemical engineering; taking stock

Geochemical engineering makes use of optimized geochemical processes for the solution of environmental problems. It has developed in a few years from a collection of unrelated scientific and technological incidents into a coherent concept about how and where we can improve our geo-environment. All solutions to problems of pollution are based on neutralization/breakdown, concentration, dilution, isolation or immobilization, which serve to eliminate the pollutant, make it more manageable, or prevent its entry into the mobile phase, usually water, from which it can affect the biosphere. All of these solutions have their counterpart in nature, where many examples are found of high concentrations of potentially harmful substances. A major prerequisite of geochemical engineering solutions is that they should be compatible with the natural evolution of the system in its geo-environment. The advantages of this approach are that we can devise low-cost technologies (nature does most of the hard work itself), interfere least with nature, and quite often end up with useful by-products. Disadvantages are that technologies based on natural geochemical processes tend to be slow. The application of geochemical engineering concepts requires a better understanding of our environment and its ongoing processes than is necessary for a ‘classical' technology. In most environmental technologies the conditions are externally imposed on the system to be treated, and the natural evolution of the system is eliminated, or at best neglected. The concept of seeking a closer conformity with nature is paralleled in other disciplines like agriculture or the medical sector, where we see a similar evolution in the direction of techniques that are more in harmony with nature. Geochemical engineering brings many advantages, particularly in developing countries, or in countries where the state of the economy does not permit the introduction of expensive high-tech environmental technologies. So far, most of the applications of geochemical engineering concepts have focussed on solutions to environmental problems, but there are a number of cases where the environmental issue is more indirect, as e.g. in civil engineering. Geochemical engineering may be practised on a large, almost global scale, down to that of individual minerals, in accordance with the fact that geochemical processes also act on vastly different scales. An overview will be given of some of the problems that are being studied.     

High-resolution stratigraphy of the northernmost concentric raised bog in Europe: Sellevollmyra, Andøya, northern Norway

From the Sellevollmyra bog at Andøya, northern Norway, a 440‐cm long peat core covering the last c. 7000 calendar years was examined for humification, loss‐on‐ignition, microfossils, macrofossils and tephra. The age model was based on a Bayesian wiggle‐match of 35 ¹⁴C dates and two historically anchored tephra layers. Based on changes in lithology and biostratigraphical climate proxies, several climatic changes were identified (periods of the most fundamental changes in italics): 6410–6380, 6230–6050, 5730–5640, 5470–5430, 5340–5310, 5270–5100, 4790–4710, 4890–4820, 4380–4320, 4220–4120, 4000–3810, 3610–3580, 3370–3340 (regionally 2850–2750; in Sellevollmyra a hiatus between 2960–2520), 2330–2220, 1950, 1530–1450, 1150–840, 730? and c. 600? cal. yr BP. Most of these climate changes are known from other investigations of different palaeoclimate proxies in northern and middle Europe. Some volcanic eruptions seemingly coincide with vegetation changes recorded in the peat, e.g. about 5760 cal. yr BP; however, the known climatic deterioration at the time of the Hekla‐4 tephra layer started some decades before the eruption event.     

Age, origin and significance of a new middle MIS 3 tephra horizon identified within a long-core sequence from Les Echets, France

A new tephra has been identified within a long core (EC 3) sequence recovered from Les Echets, near Lyon, France. This visible tephra was discovered as part of a high resolution multiproxy re-investigation of the Les Echets sequence. Independent chronological information suggests that the tephra is c . 2 000–45 000 years old, and geochemical analysis indicates that it is of basanitic composition. The latter suggests a possible origin in the Eifel; however, as yet, no other volcanic events or deposits can be correlated to the Les Echets tephra. New sedimentological and chronological data are presented indicating that the tephra falls within an interval that most likely correlates with Dansgaard–Oeschger events 12-9. Thus, this tephra could potentially be an important middle MIS 3 marker horizon in central Europe if it can be traced in other palaeorecords.     

Population structure of the sicklefin lemon shark Negaprion acutidens within the Curieuse Marine National Park,Seychelles

This study produced the first data on population parameters for sicklefin lemon shark Negaprion acutidens at the granitic Seychelles Islands, adding to a limited catalogue of species information. Juveniles at a site in the Curieuse Marine National Park were tagged over two periods, in 2014–2015 and 2015–2016, with measurements of length (precaudal, fork and total) and weight, sex, and state of the umbilical opening recorded. Recapture data were used to calculate growth rates and population size. Mean annual growth rate was 5.40 cm y^–1. A mean size at birth of 62.5 cm TL is in line with previous assessments of the species. Population-size estimates were similar for the two sampling periods (comprising 311 and 255 individuals) and higher than anticipated. Movements to outside the lagoon were recorded for early ages, and this, combined with weight loss and a reduction in condition factor as displayed in several individuals, suggests that the study area alone could not support the large number of sharks pupped yearly.     

The Hormuz Strait Dam Macroproject—21st Century Electricity Development Infrastructure Node (EDIN)?

ABSTRACT

Ocean gulfs offer a means of artificially creating a depression, which can be used for a regionally significant hydroelectric macroproject. We examine here the case for a dam at the Strait of Hormuz that blocks a large gulf situated in an arid region. A 35 m evaporation of this concentration basin will reduce its watery surface area by ～53% and allow generation of ～2.050 MW (or possibly ～2.500 MW) of electricity. Our conclusion is that the proposed Electricity Development Infrastructure Node (EDIN) is a feasible and desirable macroproject. If the macroproject starts in the near-term future, it would require a significant change in the logistics of oil and gas transport from this region. Alternatively, it can be considered as an attractive future solution for the energy requirements of the region after exhaustion of its oil and gas reserves.     

LANCELOT (Lake Nyos carbon emission lowering by olivine treatment)

A catastrophe hit Lake Nyos in Cameroon in August 1986, when a dense cloud of CO₂ erupted from the lake and rolled down the slope of the volcano, killing more than 1,700 people. To prevent a repetition, a geyser-like system has been installed, which lifts the bottom waters. When the pressure diminishes, bubbles of CO₂ nucleate and bubble upward, thus preventing the accumulation of this greenhouse gas in the bottom waters. In this note, another way of tackling the problem is proposed, by which the CO₂ is transformed into bicarbonate in a layer of olivine spread over the lake bottom. Although the volume of the gas is modest at Nyos, the approach can function as a model for other and more voluminous CO₂ emissions in the world, to prevent their escape into the atmosphere.