Sicilian serpentinite xenoliths containing abiotic organics with nanodiamond clusters as key model for prebiotic processes     

Sergei K.Simakov  Vittorio Scribano  Nikolai N.Mel’Nik  Germana Barone 《地学前缘(英文版)》2021,12(1):255-263

Rock fragments from the deepest parts of a buried hydrothermal system belonging to the Mesozoic Tethys Ocean entered as xenoliths in a Miocenic diatreme,hence brought to the surface,in the Hyblean Plateau(Sicily).Some xenoliths consist of strongly serpentinized ultramafic rocks bearing blebs of abiotic organic matter,where clusters of amorphous carbon nanoparticles,including nanodiamonds,are immersed.Such an occurrence conjures up established hypotheses that diamond surfaces are suitable catalytic platforms stimulating the assemblage of complex bio-organic molecules relevant to the emergence of life on Earth.The appearance of bio-organic molecules under primitive Earth conditions is one of the major unsolved questions on the origin of life.Here we report new micro-Raman spectra on blebs of abiotic organic matter from a selected xenolith.Diamond bands were related to hydrogenated nanocrystalline diamonds,with size of nearly 1-1.6 nm,formed from organics at low pressures and temperatures.In particular,diamond surfaces can give rise to crystalline interfacial water layers that may have played a fundamental role in the early biosphere evolution as a good medium for rapidly transporting positive charges in the form of hydrated protons.Nowadays,proton gradients in alkaline hydrothermal vents along oceanic ridges are generally viewed as key pre-biotic factors.In general,serpentinites span the entire geological record,including prebiotic times.These hydrous ultramafic rocks often display evidence of abiotic carbon species,both organic and inorganic,including nanodiamonds,being also capable to give rise to chemiosmotic processes and proton gradients necessary to the organisms,such as the"Last Universal Common Ancestor"(LUCA),in the prebiotic Earth.  相似文献   

Studies of a contaminated brackish marsh in the Hackensack Meadowlands of northeastern New Jersey: an assessment of natural recovery     

Weis P  Barrett KR  Proctor T  Bopp RF 《Marine pollution bulletin》2005,50(11):1405-1415

Eight-Day Swamp is known to be contaminated with heavy metals, especially mercury. Sediment cores were collected to approximately 32 cm at 17 sites on four transects and analyzed at 1 or 2 cm intervals for seven metals and organic matter. Very high metal levels were found throughout the site. Long and Morgan's "effects range-median" (ER-M) was exceeded in more than 50% of slices for all elements except As. Hg had the highest concentration relative to ER-M; median Hg concentration was 72 times its ER-M. On the marsh plain, all metals showed enrichment at 14-20 cm depth of 10-40X over surficial sediments. 137Cs analysis showed sedimentation rates ranging from 0.33 to 0.50 cm yr(-1) over the last approximately 40 yr. These rates indicate that metal contamination peaks occurred in sediments deposited in the early 1960s. Thus, newer, less contaminated sediments are burying older, more contaminated layers and peak levels of contaminants are becoming less available to benthos.  相似文献   

THE IDENTIFICATION OF REGIONAL BOUNDARIES ON COGNITIVE MAPS*     

Robert Lloyd  Theodore Steinke 《The Professional geographer》1986,38(2):149-159

This study investigates regions on cognitive maps and methods used to identify their boundaries. Subjects either drew regional boundaries on a map or decided in which region sample points were located. These methods produced similar results with differences associated more with regional boundaries than cores. The amount of time needed to make point decisions demonstrated the subjects' cognitive process and corroborated boundaries and cores for the cognitive regions. Differences among subjects' maps were greater when boundaries were drawn.  相似文献   

A method for establishing ship design wave bending moment and its comparison with classification societies' rules     

Theodore A. Loukakis  Stergios B. Grivas 《Ocean Engineering》1980,7(2):357-371

A procedure has been developed for the long-term distribution of the short-term extreme values of ship wave bending moments. The procedure has been applied in a systematic manner to investigate the effect of the principal ship characteristics on the design wave bending monent. The results have been compared to Classification Societies' Rules and demonstrate a rational way to improve them. The same procedure can also be applied to other ship responses or the responses of any structure excited by seaways.  相似文献   

Life Histories and Breeding Patterns of Three Intertidal Sand Beach Isopods     

AN M. C. DE Ruyck    Theodore E.  Donn Jr Anton  McLachlan 《Marine Ecology》1991,12(2):105-121

Abstract. Three-weekly transects were done over a 14-month period at Sundays River Beach, a high energy beach in Algoa Bay, South Africa, to determine the life histories, breeding patterns, and fecundities of three intertidal cirolanid isopods. Eurydice longicornis. Pontogeloides latipes , and Excirolana naialensis. E. longicornis exhibits an annual, multivoltine life history with a more extended breeding period than the other two species. P. latipes and E. natalensis both have biennial. univoltine life histories with lower fecundities than E. longicornis.  相似文献   

The chemical, physical and structural properties of estuarine ice in Great Bay, New Hampshire     

Debra A. Meese  Anthony J. Gow  Paul A. Mayewski  Walter Ficklin  Theodore C. Loder 《Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science》1987,24(6)

The purpose of this study was to provide general information on the chemical, physical and structural properties of estuarine ice and show how it compares with sea ice found at higher latitudes in order to determine whether the ice in Great Bay can be used as an analog in the study of arctic sea ice.Ice cores and water samples were collected during the 1983–1984 winter season at Adams Point in Great Bay, New Hampshire. Concentrations of chloride, nitrogen (as nitrate and nitrite), bromide, phosphate, sulfate and silicate were determined for samples chosen on the basis of identifiable stratigraphic layers (i.e. bubble size and shape, sediment layers, etc.).Similarities between ice formation in Great Bay and those in the arctic regions include the nature of the freezing process and the ice types produced. In addition, the distribution and concentration of chemical constituents were found to be similar to those observed in arctic sea ice. Factors affecting the chemistry of the ice in Great Bay include rainfall during the freezing season, the presence of sediment layers in the ice cores, the nature of incorporation of brine into the crystal structure of the ice and the drainage of brine.  相似文献   

The influence of the Evros River on the recent sedimentation of the inner shelf of the NE Aegean Sea     

Theodore D. Kanellopoulos  Vasilios Kapsimalis  Serafim E. Poulos  Michael O. Angelidis  Aristomenis P. Karageorgis  Kosmas Pavlopoulos 《Environmental Geology》2008,53(7):1455-1464

The transboundary Evros River discharges into the Alexandroupolis Gulf, located in the inner shelf of the northeastern Aegean Sea, where it has formed an extended delta. Grain-size and mineralogical analyses of five sediment cores, collected in the subaqueous delta, provide the following information about recent sedimentation processes in the northeastern part of the Aegean shelf: (a) river mouth deposits, consisting of coarse-grained sediments, are mainly deposited in front of the active mouth, whilst some sandy material is expected to be transported alongshore by nearshore currents; (b) delta front deposits are characterised by fine-grained sediments that include evidence of human activities which have taken place, in a more intense way, since the 1950s; and (c) prodelta deposits are represented by almost uniform riverine mud that cover the pre-existed relict sands of the shelf, indicating also the limit (some 15 km to the SW) of the influence of riverine sedimentation on the seabed of the inner shelf of the Alexandroupolis Gulf.  相似文献   

Recent advances in seismic monitoring technology at Canadian mines   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

Theodore I. Urbancic  Cezar-Ioan Trifu 《Journal of Applied Geophysics》2000,45(4):7

We provide an overview of the current status of seismic monitoring instrumentation employed in Canadian underground mines. Based on several case studies, we outline how passive seismic monitoring techniques are being used to evaluate fractures and stress conditions associated with ore extraction at depth. It is shown that induced microseismicity allows for the remote monitoring of active fractures, delineating modes of failure with advancing excavation fronts, and identifying variations in principal stress orientations during sequential stages of mining. Advances into the characterization of excavation zone of influence through deformation state analysis and the use of seismic hazard analysis to evaluate the potential for ground instability are also discussed.  相似文献   

Rocking damage‐free steel column base with friction devices: design procedure and numerical evaluation          下载免费PDF全文

Fabio Freddi  Christoforos A. Dimopoulos  Theodore L. Karavasilis 《地震工程与结构动力学》2017,46(14):2281-2300

Earthquake‐resilient steel frames, such as self‐centering frames or frames with passive energy dissipation devices, have been extensively studied during the past decade, but little attention has been paid to their column bases. The paper presents a rocking damage‐free steel column base, which uses post‐tensioned high‐strength steel bars to control rocking behavior and friction devices to dissipate seismic energy. Contrary to conventional steel column bases, the rocking column base exhibits monotonic and cyclic moment–rotation behaviors that are easily described using simple analytical equations. Analytical equations are provided for different cases including structural limit states that involve yielding or loss of post‐tensioning in the post‐tensioned bars. A step‐by‐step design procedure is presented, which ensures damage‐free behavior, self‐centering capability, and adequate energy dissipation capacity for a predefined target rotation. A 3D nonlinear finite element (FE) model of the column base is developed in abaqus . The results of the FE simulations validate the accuracy of the moment–rotation analytical equations and demonstrate the efficiency of the design procedure. Moreover, a simplified model for the column base is developed in OpenSees . Comparisons among the OpenSees and abaqus models demonstrate the efficiency of the former and its adequacy to be used in nonlinear dynamic analysis. A prototype steel building is designed as a self‐centering moment‐resisting frame with conventional or rocking column bases. Nonlinear dynamic analyses show that the rocking column base fully protects the first story columns from yielding and eliminates the first story residual drift without any detrimental effect on peak interstory drifts. The study focuses on the 2D rocking motion and, thus, ignores 3D rocking effects such as biaxial bending deformations in the friction devices. The FE models, the analytical equations, and the design procedure will be updated and validated to cover 3D rocking motion effects after forthcoming experimental tests on the column base. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

Embedding road networks and travel time into distance metrics for urban modelling     

Henry Crosby  Theodore Damoulas  Stephen A. Jarvis 《International journal of geographical information science》2019,33(3):512-536

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