Some consequences of meteoroid impacts on Saturn's rings     

G.E. Morfill  H. Fechtig  E. Grün  C.K. Goertz 《Icarus》1983,55(3):439-447

High-velocity impacts of interplanetary meteoroids on Saturn's rings are discussed. It is shown that the neutral gas emitted by impact vaporization may be responsible, to a large part, for the observed neutral ring atmosphere. Both the predicted neutral gas injection rate and the gas temperature (or kinetic energy) are compatible with the measurements (see Broadfoot, A. L., B. R. Sandel, D. E. Shemansky, J. B. Holberg, G. R. Smith, D. F. Strobel, J. C. McConnell, S. Kumar, D. M. Hunten, S. K. Atreya, T. M. Dohnahne, H. W. Moos, J. L. Bertaux, J. E. Blamont, R. B. Pomphrey, and S. Linik, Science212, 206–211, 1981). Heavy ejecta particles produce a particulate ring “halo”. The physical properties of this halo are calculated, and it appears to be identical with the tenous particle population discussed by Baum and Kreidl (1982). Erosion of Saturn's ring particles, the resulting mass balance, and regolith formation are estimated. This provides some constraints on surface properties and optical albedo.  相似文献   

'Distinguishing eustatic and epeirogenic controls on Lower-Middle Cambrian boundary successions in West Gondwana (Morocco and Iberia)', by Ed Landing, Gerd Geyer and Wolfram Heldmaier, published in Sedimentology (2006), 53(4), 899–918 – discussion     

Eladio Liñán  María Eugenia Dies†  José Antonio Gámez Vintaned  Rodolfo Gozalo‡  Eduardo Mayoral§ 《Sedimentology》2008,55(4):723-724

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Age and depositional environment of the Draa Sfar massive sulfide deposit, Morocco     

C. Moreno  R. Sáez  F. González  G. Almodóvar  M. Toscano  G. Playford  A. Alansari  S. Rziki  A. Bajddi 《Mineralium Deposita》2008,43(8):891-911

The Draa Sfar mineralization consists of two main stratabound orebodies, Sidi M’Barek and Tazacourt, located north and south of the Tensift River (“Oued Tessift”), respectively. Each orebody is comprised by at least two massive sulfide lenses. The hosting rocks are predominantly black shales, although minor rhyolitic rocks are also present in the footwall to the southern orebody. Shales, rhyolitic volcanic rocks, and massive sulfides are all included into the Sarhlef Series, which is recognized as one of the main stratigraphic units of the Moroccan Variscan Meseta. Hydrothermal activity related with an anomalous thermal gradient, together with a high sedimentation rate in a tectonically driven pull-apart marine basin, favored the accumulation of organic-rich mud in the deepest parts of the basin and the sedimentary environment suitable for massive sulfide deposition and preservation. This took place by replacement of the hosting unlithified wet mud below the sediment–water interface. Geochemical data suggest a sedimentary environment characterized by oxic water column and anoxic sediment pile with the redox boundary below the sediment–water interface. The low oxygen availability within the sediment pile inhibited oxidation and pyritization of pyrrhotite. Biostratigraphic analysis, based on the palynological content of the hosting black shales, restricts the age of the sulfides to the Asbian substage (mid-Mississippian). This age is consistent with earlier geochronological constraints.  相似文献   

Impact evaluation on groundwater of the infiltration of an urban wastewater geopurification system placed over a detrital aquifer in a semiarid region (Spain)     

L. Moreno  J. J. Durán  M. A. Casermeiro  J. R. Quintana  Ma A. Fernández 《Environmental Geology》2008,54(3):465-477

Over a period of 4 years and 4 months, the geopurification installations at Dehesas de Guadix (Granada, Spain) were monitored to determine the impact on soil and groundwater of the controlled discharge of urban wastewater, and also to identify the best indicators of the entry of the recharged water into the aquifer. The installations are located in an area where the climate is Mediterranean sub-arid, with an average precipitation of less than 287 mm/year, and a rate of evapotranspiration that is almost three times greater. The system was controlled by determining the balance of majority nutrients and boron in the soil and in the groundwater, both at the points affected directly by the wastewater discharge and at others. The quantity of mass discharged was relatively large (COD 14,656 g/m², NO₃ 85 g/m², NO₂ 4 g/m², NH₄ 2,425 g/m², PO₄ 1,143 g/m², K 1,531 g/m², B 63 g/m²). It was observed that the elimination of nutrients within the soil (COD 97.5%, PO₄ 94.4%, K 59.17%, N _total 18.8%, B 12.69%) was very efficient except for the nitrogen, which nevertheless did not reach the groundwater, as it was eliminated at deep levels of the unsaturated zone. Only 12.69% of the boron was removed, and appreciable, increasing amounts of this element did reach the groundwater. Unexpectedly, none of the majority nutrients behaved as a reliable indicator of the impact on groundwater; despite this, the boron and the bicarbonate did clearly reflect the arrival of the recharged water, and are proposed as the best indicators.  相似文献   

Trace elements contamination of agricultural soils affected by sulphide exploitation (Iberian Pyrite Belt,Sw Spain)   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

María López  Isabel González  Antonio Romero 《Environmental Geology》2008,54(4):805-818

Agricultural soils of the Riotinto mining area (Iberian Pyrite Belt) have been studied to assess the degree of pollution by trace elements as a consequence of the extraction and treatment of sulphides. Fifteen soil samples were collected and analysed by ICP-OES and INAA for 51 elements. Chemical analyses showed an As–Cu–Pb–Zn association related with the mineralisation of the Iberian Pyrite Belt. Concentrations were 19–994 mg kg⁻¹ for As, 41–4,890 mg kg⁻¹ for Pb, 95–897 mg kg⁻¹ for Zn and of 27–1,160 mg kg⁻¹ for Cu. Most of the samples displayed concentrations of these elements higher than the 90th percentile of the corresponding geological dominium, which suggests an anthropogenic input besides the bedrock influence. Samples collected from sediments were more contaminated than leptosols because they were polluted by leachates or by mining spills coming from the waste rock piles. The weathering of the bedrock is responsible for high concentrations in Co, Cr and Ni, but an anthropogenic input, such as wind-blown dust, seems to be indicative of the high content of As, Cu, Pb and Zn in leptosols. The metal partitioning patterns show that most trace elements are associated with Fe amorphous oxy-hydroxides, or take part of the residual fraction. According to the results obtained, the following mobility sequence is proposed for major and minor elements: Mn, Pb, Cd, > Zn, Cu > Ni > As > Fe > Cr. The high mobility of Pb, Cu and Zn involve an environmental risk in this area, even in soils where the concentrations are not so high.  相似文献   

Damage to surface structures due to underground coal mine blasting: apprehension or real cause?     

P. K. Singh  M. P. Roy 《Environmental Geology》2008,53(6):1201-1211

Investigations were carried out at three underground coal mines in India to study the response of surface structures to underground blasting and the likelihood of damage to the structures. The structures in the vicinity of the underground blasting area were single and multistoried residential houses. The amplitudes of vibration due to underground blasting were monitored simultaneously on the ground surface near the foundation of the structures and on various floors of the structures. The vibrations were also monitored near the important surface installations. It was observed that the magnitude of vibration in structures decreased with the increase in the height of the structures. The frequency of blast vibration from underground blasting was higher than the natural frequency of the structures. Little energy was transmitted into the structures, which caused reduction in the vibration level in the structures. The reduction in the vibration levels was up to 45% in the houses. It indicates that the dominant frequency of blast vibration plays an important role in persistence of vibration and its amplification or reduction characteristics in the structures. This paper deals with the effect of the vibrations on structures/houses standing above the blasting faces in underground workings and their potential to likely damage to the structures at different Indian geo-mining conditions.  相似文献   

Space–time distribution of ancient and active alluvial karst subsidence: examples from the central Ebro Basin,Spain     

J. L. Simón  M. A. Soriano  L. E. Arlegui  J. Gracia  C. L. Liesa  A. Pocoví 《Environmental Geology》2008,53(5):1057-1065

Space and time variations of alluvial karst subsidence in the central Ebro Basin are analysed in trenches (paleodolines), aerial photographs (historical dolines) and field surveys (present-day active dolines). The measured subsidence rates, as well as a comparison between densities of paleodolines computed in randomly selected scan-lines and density of active dolines computed in maps, suggest that present-day subsidence in favourable areas is more intense than that of Pleistocene times. According to diachronic maps drawn from (a) different aerial photographs taken after 1946 and (b) field surveys on deformations in urbanized areas, subsidence behaved as a nearly steady process while the whole area was used for agriculture. In contrast, rapid changes (through periods of several tens of years) have occurred in urbanized areas, in which dolines expand their boundaries through small marginal collapses, shifting sharply their sinking centres to neighbouring sites. These rapid changes do not have an equivalent in observed paleodolines.  相似文献   

Quick-look assessments to identify optimal CO2 EOR storage sites   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

Vanessa Núñez-López  Mark H. Holtz  Derek J. Wood  William A. Ambrose  Susan D. Hovorka 《Environmental Geology》2008,54(8):1695-1706

A newly developed, multistage quick-look methodology allows for the efficient screening of an unmanageably large number of reservoirs to generate a workable set of sites that closely match the requirements for optimal CO₂ enhanced oil recovery (EOR) storage. The objective of the study is to quickly identify miscible CO₂ EOR candidates in areas that contain thousands of reservoirs and to estimate additional oil recovery and sequestration capacities of selected top options through dimensionless modeling and reservoir characterization. Quick-look assessments indicate that the CO₂ EOR resource potential along the US Gulf Coast is 4.7 billion barrels, and CO₂ sequestration capacity is 2.6 billion metric tons. In the first stage, oil reservoirs are screened and ranked in terms of technical and practical feasibility for miscible CO₂ EOR. The second stage provides quick estimates of CO₂ EOR potential and sequestration capacities. In the third stage, a dimensionless group model is applied to a selected set of sites to improve the estimates of oil recovery and storage potential using appropriate inputs for rock and fluid properties, disregarding reservoir architecture and sweep design. The fourth stage validates and refines the results by simulating flow in a model that describes the internal architecture and fluid distribution in the reservoir. The stated approach both saves time and allows more resources to be applied to the best candidate sites.  相似文献   

Environmental risk evaluation of the use of mine spoils and treated sewage sludge in the ecological restoration of limestone quarries     

M. M. Jordán  S. Pina  F. García-Orenes  M. B. Almendro-Candel  E. García-Sánchez 《Environmental Geology》2008,55(2):453-462

The ecologic restoration criteria in areas degraded from extraction activities require making use of their mine spoils. These materials do not meet fertility conditions to guarantee restoration success and therefore, need the incorporation of organic amendments to obtain efficient substratum. Reducing the deficiencies in the organic material and restoration material nutrients with the contribution of treated sewage sludge is proposed in this work. This experiment was based on a controlled study using columns. The work was conducted with two mine spoils, both very rich in calcium carbonate. The first mineral, of poor quality, came from the formation of aggregates of crushed limestone (Z). The other residual material examined originated in limestone extraction, formed by the levels of interspersed non-limestone materials and the remains of stripped soils (D). Two treatments were undertaken (30,000 and 90,000 kg/ha of sewage sludge), in addition to a control treatment. The water contribution was carried out with a device that simulated either short-duration rain or a flooding irrigation system in order to cover the surface and then percolate through the soil. The collection of leached water took place 24 h after the applications. Different parameters of the leached water were determined, including pH, electrical conductivity, nitrate anions, ammonium, phosphates, sulphates and chlorides. The values obtained for each irrigation application are discussed, and the nitrate values obtained were very elevated.  相似文献   

Determination of fluid/melt partition coefficients by LA-ICPMS analysis of co-existing fluid and silicate melt inclusions: Controls on element partitioning   总被引：8，自引：0，他引：8  

Zoltán Zajacz  Werner E. Halter  Marcel Guillong 《Geochimica et cosmochimica acta》2008,72(8):2169-2197

Analyses of co-existing silicate melt and fluid inclusions, entrapped in quartz crystals in volatile saturated magmatic systems, allowed direct quantitative determination of fluid/melt partition coefficients. Investigations of various granitic systems (peralkaline to peraluminous in composition, log fO₂ = NNO−1.7 to NNO+4.5) exsolving fluids with various chlorinities (1-14 mol/kg) allowed us to assess the effect of these variables on the fluid/melt partition coefficients (D). Partition coefficients for Pb, Zn, Ag and Fe show a nearly linear increase with the chlorinity of these fluid (D_Pb ∼ 6 ∗ m_Cl, D_Zn ∼ 8 ∗ m_Cl, D_Ag ∼ 4 ∗ m_Cl, D_Fe ∼ 1.4 ∗ m_Cl, where m_Cl is the molinity of Cl). This suggests that these metals are dissolved primarily as Cl-complexes and neither oxygen fugacity nor the composition of the melt affects significantly their fluid/melt partitioning. By contrast, partition coefficients for Mo, B, As, Sb and Bi are highest in low salinity (1-2 mol/kg Cl) fluids with maximum values of D_Mo ∼ 20, D_B ∼ 15, D_As ∼ 13, D_Sb ∼ 8, D_Bi ∼ 15 indicating dissolution as non-chloride (e.g., hydroxy) complexes. Fluid/melt partition coefficients of copper are highly variable, but highest between vapor like fluids and silicate melt (D_Cu ? 2700), indicating an important role for ligands other than Cl. Partition coefficients for W generally increase with increasing chlorinity, but are exceptionally low in some of the studied brines which may indicate an effect of other parameters. Fluid/melt partition coefficients of Sn show a high variability but likely increase with the chlorinity of the fluid (D_Sn = 0.3-42, D_W = 0.8-60), and decrease with decreasing oxygen fugacity or melt peraluminosity.  相似文献