Structural investigation of the synthetic CaAn(PO4)2 (An = Th and Np) cheralite-like phosphates     

Philippe E. Raison  Regis Jardin  Daniel Bouëxière  Rudy J. M. Konings  Thorsten Geisler  Claudiu C. Pavel  Jean Rebizant  Karin Popa 《Physics and Chemistry of Minerals》2008,35(10):603-609

The crystallographic structures of the synthetic cheralite, CaTh(PO₄)₂, and its homolog CaNp(PO₄)₂ have been investigated by X-ray diffraction at room temperature. Rietveld analyses showed that both compounds crystallize in the monoclinic system and are isostructural to monazite LnPO₄ (Ln = La to Gd). The space group is P2₁/n (I.T. = 14) with Z = 2. The refined lattice parameters of CaTh(PO₄)₂ are a = 6.7085(8) Å, b = 6.9160(6) Å, c = 6.4152(6) Å, and β = 103.71(1)° with best fit parameters R _wp = 4.87%, R _p = 3.69% and R _B = 3.99%. For CaNp(PO₄)₂, we obtained a = 6.6509(5) Å, b = 6.8390(3) Å, c = 6.3537(8) Å, and β = 104.12(6)° and R _wp = 6.74%, R _p = 5.23%, and R _B = 6.05%. The results indicate significant distortions of bond length and angles of the PO₄ tetrahedra in CaTh(PO₄)₂ and to a lesser extent in CaNp(PO₄)₂. The structural distortions were confirmed by Raman spectroscopy of CaTh(PO₄)₂. A comparison with the isostructural compounds LnPO₄ (Ln = Ce and Sm) confirmed that the substitution of the large rare earth trivalent cations with Ca²⁺ and Th⁴⁺ introduces a distortion of the PO₄ tetrahedra.  相似文献   

A neutron diffraction study of alkali cation migration in montmorillonites     

D. Gournis  A. Lappas  M. A. Karakassides  D. Többens  A. Moukarika 《Physics and Chemistry of Minerals》2008,35(1):49-58

Neutron powder diffraction measurements on lithium and cesium saturated montmorillonite samples before and after heat treatment at 300°C are studied, in order to undertake a complete refinement of crystal structure and unravel the migration mechanism for the interlayer cations of Li or Cs. Rietveld analysis of the corresponding diffraction patterns finds that montmorillonite crystallizes in the C2/m space group with unit cell dimensions consistent with the size of the specific interlayer cation. We show that thermal treatment affects the two types of samples in a different way. This is with respect to their unit cell dimensions and the migration of Li from the 2b to the 2c clay lattice site, in constrast to the Cs positioning which remains effectively unchanged.  相似文献   

Comparative analyses of East Texas forest cover maps generated from Landsat and AVHRR data     

Ramesh Sivanpillai  X. Ben Wu  R. Srinivasan  Charles T. Smith  Michael G. Messina 《GeoJournal》2008,71(4):211-220

Comparing satellite data derived map products are affected by differences in data characteristics, image acquisition dates, processing techniques, and classification schemes used for assigning pixels to a thematic class. By comparing two forest maps generated from Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) and Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) images acquired on the same day, and processed using identical classification scheme and methods these differences were minimized. The ETM+ derived map had higher classification accuracy values and more precise area estimates than the AVHRR derived map. In the ETM+ derived map, 87 of the 599 verification data were misclassified, whereas in the AVHRR derived map, 155 of the 469 verification data were misclassified. Detailed error analyses by land cover class revealed that a land use based definition of forest accounted for 74% (64 out of 87) and 57% (89 out of 155) of the classification errors in ETM+ and AVHRR derived maps, respectively.  相似文献   

The spatial implications of the functional proximity deriving from air passenger flows between European metropolitan urban regions     

Malcolm C. Burns  Josep Roca Cladera  Montserrat Moix Bergadà 《GeoJournal》2008,71(1):37-52

Until recently the traditional spatial configuration of the European geography was based upon the core-periphery model. The ‘pentagon’, broadly defined as lying between London, Paris, Milan, Munich and Hamburg, was seen as the core area characterised by having the highest concentration of economic development in the European Union (EU), with the remainder of the European territory viewed as peripheral, albeit to varying degrees. In a number of cases such peripheral areas equated with clear regional disparities. The elaboration of the European Spatial Development Perspective (ESDP) (CEC, European spatial development perspective, towards balanced and sustainable development in the territory of the European Union, 1999) challenged this core-periphery model. European spatial planning policies, aimed at encouraging social and economic, and with ever increasing importance, territorial cohesion, seek amongst other aspects to encourage the development of a balanced and polycentric urban system. This paper adopts a network analysis approach to the analysis of air passenger flows between some 28 principal European metropolitan urban regions. The evaluation of these flows contributes to an enhanced comprehension of the spatial dynamics of the European metropolitan territory which goes beyond that deriving from the more standard analyses of the individual components of the urban system. Several indicators are used, deriving from gravitational modelling techniques, to analyse the complexity of the air passenger flows. A multidimensional scaling (MDS) technique is introduced in order to interpret and visualise the resulting spatial configuration and positioning of the different metropolitan centres within the conceptual European ‘space of air passenger flows’, thereby contrasting with the more traditional map-based geographical image of Europe, based upon Cartesian coordinates.

Malcolm C. BurnsEmail:

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Biaxial test simulations using a packing of polygonal particles   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

A. A. Peña  A. Lizcano  F. Alonso‐Marroquin  H. J. Herrmann 《国际地质力学数值与分析法杂志》2008,32(2):143-160

The mechanical response of cohesionless granular materials under monotonic loading is studied by performing molecular dynamic simulations. The diversity of shapes of soil grains is modelled by using randomly generated convex polygons as granular particles. Results of the biaxial test obtained for dense and loose media show that samples achieve the same void ratio at large strains independent of their initial density state. This limit state resembles the so‐called critical state of soil mechanics, except for some stress fluctuations, which remain for large deformations. These fluctuations are studied at the micro‐mechanical level, by following the evolution of the co‐ordination number, force chains and the fraction of the sliding contacts of the sample. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

The effect of naturally acidified irrigation water on agricultural volcanic soils. The case of Asembagus, Java, Indonesia     

A.M.D. van Rotterdam-Los  S.P. Vriend  M.J. van Bergen  P.F.M. van Gaans   《Journal of Geochemical Exploration》2008,96(1):53-68

Acid water from the Banyuputih river (pH  3.5) is used for the irrigation of agricultural land in the Asembagus coastal area (East Java, Indonesia), with harmful consequences for rice yields. The river water has an unusual composition which is caused by seepage from the acidic Kawah Ijen crater lake into the river. This unique irrigation setting allows the study of soil acidification in situ. This paper assesses the effects of volcanogenically contaminated irrigation water on the chemical properties of the agricultural soils.The changes in soil properties were evaluated by comparing samples taken from the topsoil and sub-soil (1–3 m depth) from areas irrigated with acid water and areas irrigated with neutral water. The field survey thus resulted in four soil categories. Bulk soil composition, organic matter content, moisture content and particle size distribution were determined. Reactive phases were quantified with the selective extractions 1 M KCl, 0.1 M Na-pyrophosphate and 0.2 M acid ammonium oxalate (AAO).By comparing the four soil categories it is shown that the use of the naturally polluted irrigation water has had a large influence on the chemical composition of the topsoil. The composition of the soil solution has changed over the entire investigated soil profile. Furthermore the acid irrigation water has strongly modified the composition of the reactive phases, extracted as KCl, pyrophosphate, and AAO extractable elements, and also the bulk soil composition has been significantly modified. Overall this has resulted in the net dissolution of some elements and the net precipitation of others. The changes in the reactive phases and bulk soil composition are only apparent in the topsoil (0–20 cm) but not in the deeper soil.  相似文献   

Geostatistical estimation of chemical contamination in stream sediments: The case study of Vale das Gatas mine (northern Portugal)     

A.R. Salgueiro  P. Freire vila  H. Garcia Pereira  J.M. Santos Oliveira 《Journal of Geochemical Exploration》2008,98(1-2):15

Based on an environmental geochemistry case study carried out in the neighbourhood of a W–Sn abandoned mine, the pollution in stream sediments was modelled through a Global Contamination Index. Such an index permits one to summarize the combination of deleterious elements in a single variable, obtained by the projection of samples onto the first axis of a PCASD (Principal Components Analysis of Standardized Data) applied to the entire n × p matrix containing the available concentrations of p = 16 elements in the set of n = 220 collected samples.In order to provide a sound basis for a coherent planning of the remediation process which will be put in operation in the affected area, it is necessary to balance the costs of reclaiming with the probabilities of exceeding the upper limits accepted for concentrations of environmentally harmful elements in sediments. Given these limits, they are back-transformed in the index values, providing a practical threshold between ‘clean’ and ‘contaminated’ samples. On the other hand, the minimum dimension of the cell to be reclaimed is restrained by the selected remediation process to be applied in the affected area. Hence, to meet the constraints of such a remediation process, it is required to estimate the probabilities of exceeding the index threshold in technologically meaningful sub-areas. For this end, the Indicator Block Kriging technique was applied, producing a series of maps where sub-areas to be reclaimed can be spotted for different probability levels. These maps, on which the decision making remediation agency can rely for its cost-benefit analysis, take into account both the spatial structure of ‘clean’ vs. ‘contaminated’ samples and the constraints of the reclaiming process.  相似文献   

Drought events in Southern Portugal from the 12th to the 19th centuries: integrated research from descriptive sources     

Afonso Do Ó  Maria J. Roxo 《Natural Hazards》2008,47(1):55-63

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Ground motion estimation during the Kashmir earthquake of 8th October 2005   总被引：2，自引：1，他引：1  

S. T. G. Raghukanth 《Natural Hazards》2008,46(1):1-13

In this article, analytical methods have been used to estimate ground motion during the 8 October 2005, Kashmir earthquake. Peak ground acceleration (PGA) values at several stations in the epicentral region have been estimated by empirical analytical source mechanism models. As an alternate analysis, PGA estimates have also been obtained using the stochastic finite fault seismological model. The estimated PGAs are compared with that obtained from damage values. A PGA contour map in the near-source region is provided. It is found that very near to the epicenter, PGA would have reached more than 1 g. It is demonstrated that empirical analytical models can be effectively used to estimate ground motion due to rupture of active faults.  相似文献   

Integration and magnitude homogenization of the Egyptian earthquake catalogue   总被引：2，自引：0，他引：2  

H. M. Hussein  K. M. Abou Elenean  I. A. Marzouk  A. Peresan  I. M. Korrat  E. Abu El-Nader  G. F. Panza  M. N. El-Gabry 《Natural Hazards》2008,47(3):525-546

The aim of the present work is to compile and update a catalogue of the instrumentally recorded earthquakes in Egypt, with uniform and homogeneous source parameters as required for the analysis of seismicity and seismic hazard assessment. This in turn requires a detailed analysis and comparison of the properties of different available sources, including the distribution of events with time, the magnitude completeness, and the scaling relations between different kinds of magnitude reported by different agencies. The observational data cover the time interval 1900–2004 and an area between 22°–33.5° N and 25°–36° E. The linear regressions between various magnitude types have been evaluated for different magnitude ranges. Using the best linear relationship determined for each available pair of magnitudes, as well as those identified between the magnitudes and the seismic moment, we convert the different magnitude types into moment magnitudes M _W, through a multi-step conversion process. Analysis of the catalogue completeness, based on the M _W thus estimated, allows us to identify two different time intervals with homogeneous properties. The first one (1900–1984) appears to be complete for M _W ≥ 4.5, while the second one (1985–2004) can be considered complete for magnitudes M _W ≥ 3.  相似文献