A new approach to precious metals recovery from brown coals: Correlation of recovery efficacy with the mechanism of metal-humic interactions     

Svetlana Yu. Bratskaya  Alexandra S. Volk  Alexander Yu. Ustinov  Valentin A. Avramenko 《Geochimica et cosmochimica acta》2009,73(11):3301-176

The presence of gold and platinum group elements (PGE) in low-rank brown coals around the world has promoted interest in the industrial exploitation of this alternative source of precious metals. However, due to low efficacy of the methods traditionally used for the processing of mineral ores, there exists a high demand for new strategies of precious metal recovery from refractory carbonaceous materials that could significantly increase the economic potential of gold- and PGE-bearing organic resources. Here we discuss the possibility of gold and PGE recovery from alkaline extracts of brown coals using the difference in colloidal stability of bulk organic matter and its fractions enriched with precious metals. This approach enables one to avoid complete oxidation or combustion of brown coals prior to gold recovery, to minimize organic content in gold concentrate, and to obtain a valuable by-product - humic extracts. Using gold-bearing brown coals from several deposits located in the South Far East of Russia, we show that up to 95% of gold can be transferred to alkaline extracts of humic acids (HA) and up to 85% of this gold can be recovered by centrifugation at pH 4.0-6.0, when only 5-15% of HA precipitated simultaneously. We have shown that the high efficacy of gold recovery can be attributed to the occurrence of fine-dispersed elemental gold particles stabilized by HA, which differ significantly in colloidal stability from the bulk organic matter and, thus, can be separated by centrifugation.  相似文献   

Polymictic pool behaviour in a montane meadow,Sierra Nevada,CA          下载免费PDF全文

Ryan G. Lucas  Francisco Suárez  Scott W. Tyler  Jean E. Moran  Martha H. Conklin 《水文研究》2016,30(18):3274-3288

We observed polymictic behaviour in stream pools in Long Meadow, Sequoia National Park, California—part of the Southern Sierra Critical Zone Observatory. Stream pools stratified thermally during the day time and were isothermal at night—this pattern persists from the middle of summer into the fall. We found that four characteristics typical of a mountain meadow environment—low stream flow, open sky, cold groundwater discharge, and elevated organic carbon concentrations—are particularly conducive to pool stratification. Incoming shortwave radiation was the dominant energy input to heat pool water while nighttime emitted longwave radiation was the major cooling mechanism. Relatively cold groundwater discharge into the pool bottom increased density stratification within the pool. Elevated DOC concentrations increased the capacity of the pool to absorb photosynthetically active radiation and also promoted stratification. Stream velocities in the meadow were generally insufficient to meet threshold Richardson numbers and mix the pools during the daytime; smaller stream cross sectional areas would have potential for destabilizing pools in the daytime. We propose a conceptual model for describing polymictic stream pools and assessing the potential for polymictic pools to occur. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

Landscape‐scale controls on the spatial distribution of caesium 137: A study based on an airborne geophysical survey across Northern Ireland     

B. G. Rawlins  C. Scheib  D. Beamish  R. Webster  A. N. Tyler  M. E. Young 《地球表面变化过程与地形》2011,36(2):158-169

The spatial distribution of ¹³⁷Cs across the landscape and the processes controlling its redistribution are of interest because (i) ¹³⁷Cs has been widely used to quantify the movement of soil and sediments and (ii) substantial fallout of ¹³⁷Cs after the Chernobyl accident has led to contamination of foodstuffs in some places. A high‐resolution airborne geophysical radiometric survey of Northern Ireland has provided an opportunity to study the distribution and possible redistribution of ¹³⁷Cs. The ¹³⁷Cs activity (recorded at 1·2 million points) is distributed in a series of bands oriented approximately 160° and 115° clockwise from north. Geostatistical analysis of the data shows a strong, short‐range structure (correlation ranges between 0·6 and 8 km) in ¹³⁷Cs activity across the vast majority of the region; the spatial distribution shows association with a published, coarse‐scale depositional pattern of ¹³⁷Cs from Chernobyl. Two indices of land form derived from a digital elevation model, namely compound topographic index and the length–slope factor of the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation, account for only 3% of the variance in ¹³⁷Cs activity. In contrast, soil type and land cover in combination (including their interaction) account for 20% of the variance. In areas that received moderate fallout from Chernobyl, soil type alone accounts for a substantial proportion of the spatially correlated ¹³⁷Cs activity. We attribute this to each soil type having a fairly uniform radiocaesium interception potential that differs from those of other soil types and that this potential controls the vertical migration of ¹³⁷Cs. Over the granitic Mourne Mountains there is a strong spatial cross‐correlation between ¹³⁷Cs activity and airborne estimates of soil potassium, suggesting that the latter provides a measure of the soil's radiocaesium interception potential; this is probably dominated by the quantity of the mineral illite. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and British Geological Survey  相似文献   

Revisiting the late Pleistocene mammal extinction record at Tight Entrance Cave, southwestern Australia     

J. Tyler Faith  James F. O'Connell 《Quaternary Research》2011,76(3):397-400

Tight Entrance Cave (TEC) in southwestern Australia provides a Pleistocene sequence documenting the extinction of 14 large mammal species. This record has been interpreted as indicating that extinctions did not occur during or before the penultimate glacial maximum (PGM) and that humans played a primary role in the extinctions. However, it remains possible that the majority of extinct megafauna persisted no later than the PGM. The TEC extinctions correspond with vegetation change, a cooling/drying trend, increased biomass burning, and increasingly unstable small mammal communities. The initiation of these trends predates human arrival on the continent and implies environmentally mediated extinctions.  相似文献   

Detecting WIMPs in the microwave sky     

Pasquale Blasi  Angela V. Olinto  Craig Tyler   《Astroparticle Physics》2003,18(6):2463-662

The hierarchical clustering observed in cold dark matter simulations results in highly clumped galactic halos. If the dark matter in our halo is made of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs), their annihilation products should be detectable in high density and nearby clumps. We consider WIMPs to be neutralinos and calculate the synchrotron flux from their annihilation products in the presence of the Galactic magnetic field. We derive a self-consistent emission spectrum including pair annihilation, synchrotron self-absorption, and synchrotron self-Compton reactions. The resulting radiation spans microwave frequencies that can be observed over the anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background. These synchrotron sources should be identifiable as WIMP clumps by their spatial structure and their distinctive radio spectrum.  相似文献   

Three-dimensional numerical modeling of refraction and reflection scattering from icy galilean satellites     

J.E. Baron  G.L. Tyler  R.A. Simpson 《Icarus》2003,164(2):404-417

Radar scattering from the icy galilean satellites is marked by unusually high backscatter cross sections and polarization ratios at wavelengths λ₀=3.5-70 cm. The persistence of exotic scattering behavior over this large a wavelength range suggests that the responsible mechanisms remain at least partially effective as the wavelength approaches or exceeds the size of individual scatterers. We examine two models previously analyzed in the geometrical optics limit—radar glory from buried craters (Eshleman, 1986, Science 234, 587-590) and refraction scattering from subsurface lenses (Hagfors et al., 1985, Nature 315, 637-640)—at wavelength scales using three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) numerical simulations. We include craters with rough walls and lenses with random inclusions of heterogeneous material. For hemispherical craters spanning up to 3λ₀ in diameter, we observe none of the exotic backscatter behavior attributed to the geometrical optics models. Nonspherical refraction scatterers can produce circular polarization ratios μ_C>1 and linear polarization ratios μ_L=0.5-0.8 at diameters as small as ∼λ₀, but the density of such inclusions must be high if refraction scattering alone is to account for the measured cross sections.  相似文献   

Gastropod shell repair tracks predator abundance          下载免费PDF全文

Emily S. Stafford  Carrie L. Tyler  Lindsey R. Leighton 《Marine Ecology》2015,36(4):1176-1184

Predator‐prey interactions can shape biological communities and drive evolutionary change. The assessment of predation rates in modern and ancient ecosystems presents many challenges. We examined the utility of one common predation metric, shell repair frequency, as a proxy for crushing predation on marine gastropod populations. Our six localities near Bamfield, British Columbia, represented two contrasting predation regimes: three high‐wave‐energy (exposed) environments have low predation rates, while three low‐wave‐energy (protected) environments exhibit high predation rates. We measured the occurrence of repair scars for local populations of the gastropod Chlorostoma funebrale, and recorded multiple independent variables (shell measurements, water velocity, predatory crab abundance) at each locality. Fisher's exact test established that the repair frequencies observed in the protected localities were significantly greater than those of the exposed environments. Factors important in predicting the likelihood of an individual having a repair scar were examined using binomial logistic regression. A model containing the main effects of crab abundance, shell height, shell thickness and water velocity provided the best fit in predicting the presence of repair scars, with crab abundance having the largest contribution. The strong relationship between the presence of repair scars and predator abundance indicates that repair frequency is a valid tool for assessing predation intensity in gastropod populations.  相似文献   

Finding the hotspots within a biodiversity hotspot: fine‐scale biological predictions within a submarine canyon using high‐resolution acoustic mapping techniques          下载免费PDF全文

Katleen Robert  Daniel O.B. Jones  Paul A. Tyler  David Van Rooij  Veerle A.I. Huvenne 《Marine Ecology》2015,36(4):1256-1276

Submarine canyons are complex geomorphological features that have been suggested as potential hotspots for biodiversity. However, few canyons have been mapped and studied at high resolution (tens of m). In this study, the four main branches of Whittard Canyon, Northeast Atlantic, were mapped using multibeam and sidescan sonars to examine which environmental variables were most useful in predicting regions of higher biodiversity. The acoustic maps obtained were ground truthed by 13 remotely operated vehicle (ROV) video transects at depths ranging from 650 to 4000 m. Over 100 h of video were collected, and used to identify and georeference megabenthic invertebrate species present within specific areas of the canyon. Both general additive models (GAMs) and random forest (RF) were used to build predictive maps for megafaunal abundance, species richness and biodiversity. Vertical walls had the highest diversity of organisms, particularly when colonized by cold‐water corals such as Lophelia pertusa and Solenosmilia variabilis. GAMs and RF gave different predictive maps and external assessment of predictions indicated that the most adequate technique varied based on the response variable considered. By using ensemble mapping approaches, results from more than one model were combined to identify vertical walls most likely to harbour a high biodiversity of organisms or cold‐water corals. Such vertical structures were estimated to represent less than 0.1% of the canyon's surface. The approach developed provides a cost‐effective strategy to facilitate the location of rare biological communities of conservation importance and guide further sampling efforts to help ensure that appropriate monitoring can be implemented.  相似文献   

Palaeoproterozoic subduction‐related and passive margin basalts in the Halls Creek Orogen,northwest Australia     

S. Sheppard  I. M. Tyler  T. J. Griffin  W. R. Taylor 《Australian Journal of Earth Sciences》2013,60(5):679-690

Palaeoproterozoic basaltic rocks in the Halls Creek Orogen form part of two stratigraphic sequences on either side of a major structure, the Angelo‐Halls Creek‐Osmond Fault System. The two sequences have contrasting geological histories and probably formed in different tectonostratigraphic terranes. To the east, basalts of the Biscay Formation, which are part of the Halls Creek Group, were erupted at ca 1880 Ma and deformed and metamorphosed first at low grade between ca 1845 and ca 1820 Ma. To the west, basalts of the Tickalara Metamorphics were deposited after 1865 Ma, and were metamorphosed at medium to high grade and intruded by tonalite and leucogranite sheets at 1850 to 1845 Ma. Two groups of metabasalts are identified in the Biscay Formation. Group 1 samples have compositions similar to enriched (E‐)MORB. Group 2 samples have lower TiO₂, P₂O₅, Cr, Y, Nb and Zr contents, and trace‐element ratios (e.g. Ti/V and Zr/Nb), similar to low‐TiO₂ continental flood basalts. Metabasalts from the Tickalara Metamorphics consist of depleted and enriched types. The depleted samples have high field strength element (HFSE) and rare‐earth element (REE) abundances similar to oceanic island arc/backarc basin tholeiites. The enriched samples have compositions similar to E‐MORB, and are similarto group 1 samples from the Biscay Formation. Basalts of the Biscay Formation were erupted on a passive continental margin, whereas those of the Tickalara Metamorphics formed in an oceanic island arc/backarc basin or ensialic marginal basin, the two terranes being brought together by ca 1820 Ma. This is consistent with the evolution of the Halls Creek Orogen during the Palaeoproterozoic by plate‐tectonic processes similar to those operating in the Phanerozoic.  相似文献   

A comparison of infrared,radar, and geologic mapping of lunar craters     

T. W. Thompson  H. Masursky  R. W. Shorthill  G. L. Tyler  S. H. Zisk 《Earth, Moon, and Planets》1974,10(1):87-117

Between 1000 and 2000 infrared (eclipse) and radar anomalies have been mapped on the nearside hemisphere of the Moon. A study of 52 of these anomalies indicates that most are related to impact craters and that the nature of the infrared and radar responses is compatible with a previously developed geologic model of crater aging processes. The youngest craters are pronounced thermal and radar anomalies; that is, they have enhanced eclipse temperatures and are strong radar scatterers. With increasing crater age, the associated thermal and radar responses become progressively less noticeable until they assume values for the average lunar surface. The last type of anomaly to disappear is radar enhancement at longer wavelengths. A few craters, however, have infrared and radar behaviors not predicted by the aging model. One previously unknown feature - a field strewn with centimeter-sized rock fragments - has been identified by this technique of comparing maps at the infrared, radar, and visual wavelengths.  相似文献