International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

... cambrian period geologic history geology gondwana granites latin america

Science.gov (United States)

The results of experimental studies on the contribution of zoogenic debris to transformation of soil properties in the southern taiga subzone of Central Siberia are analyzed. They show that water-soluble carbon outflow from the forest litter increases by 21-26% upon a Siberian moth invasion, with this value decreasing to 14% one year later. The burning of forest in an area completely defoliated by the pest leads to changes in the stock, fractional composition, actual acidity, and ash element contents of the litter. The litter-dwelling invertebrate assemblage is almost completely destroyed by fire and begins to recover only after two years. PMID:18491565

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Petrographic and geochemical characteristics of the Pipe Creek Jr. paragenesis record the stratigraphic and burial evolution of the cratonic Silurian platform of Indiana during Late Silurian to Pennsylvanian. A variety of several diagenetic fluids acting over geological time affected the reef. The paragenetic sequence is as follows: (1) precipitation of turbid, fibrous, blotchy cathodoluminescent (CL) cement; (2) dolomitization of mud-rich facies; (3) precipitation of clear, zoned CL equant calcite cements; (4) fracturing and karst formation, partially filled by geopetal silt and sandstone; (5) precipitation of clear, dull CL, ferroan to nonferroan equant calcite cement, ferroan dolomite overgrowth and equant dolomite cement in moldic porosity, caves and fractures; (6) microdissolution and hydrocarbon emplacement; and (7) stylolitization. The New Albany Shale was both the hydrocarbon source and top seal to the fossil Pipe Creek Jr. oil field with original oil in ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The project on the free electron laser (FEL) of continuous action of the IR-range with the average power of 100 kW for conducting photochemical studies is described. The electron energy recovery by means of a linear accelerator-recuperator (AR) is applied in the FEL. The FEL and AR basic parameters are presented. It is supposed that the above project will be accomplished in two stages: the first order FEL-AR stage and the full-scale FEL-AR one. The possibilities of applying these facilities are indicated

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The Siberian Altai covers about 70% of the area of all south Siberian glaciers, which provide fresh water to the upper tributaries of the Ob and Yenisey rivers. The observed air temperature has increased by 1.2 deg. C over northern Eurasia during the last 120 years, affecting the degradation of the Siberian Altai glaciers. In this study, we estimated glacier area changes in the Aktru River basin (44.8 km{sup 2}), located in the central Altai mountains. We used the 1952, 1966, 1975 and 2006 remote sensed images with 0.6-3.0 m spatial resolution (aerial photographs, Corona and PRISM satellite images) and differential GPS (DGPS) data. From 1952 to 2006, the total glacier area in the Aktru basin shrank by 7.2% (1.2 km{sup 2}). During the last three decades, the rate of glacier area loss increased by a factor of 1.8, thus resembling trends in other mountain systems of Eurasia (Alps, Tien Shan). The glacier area changes were ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nuclear fuel cycle activities of the former Soviet Union (FSU) have resulted in massive contamination of the environment in western Siberia. We are developing three-dimensional numerical models of the hydrogeology and potential contaminant migration in the West Siberian Basin. Our long-term goal at Pacific Northwest Laboratory is to help determine future environmental and human impacts given the releases that have occurred to date and the current waste management practices. In FY 1993, our objectives were to (1) refine and implement the hydrogeologic conceptual models of the regional hydrogeology of western Siberia developed in FY 1992 and develop the detailed, spatially registered digital geologic and hydrologic databases to test them, (2) calibrate the computer implementation of the conceptual models developed in FY 1992, and (3) develop general geologic and hydrologic information and preliminary hydrogeologic conceptual models relevant to the more detailed ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The authors suggested a conceptual model of automatic processing the data on radioactive environment contamination (REC) after the accidents at the plants with nuclear fuel cycle. The possibilities of mathematic methods of processing the data on REC in automatic-control systems of radiation situation. It is stated that the following 2 methods most of all satisfy the existing requirements: linear interpolation on the locally homogenous fields and successive parametric adaptation. As an example there are demonstrated the results of estimation of the actual radiation situation in the region of accident at Siberian Chemical Plant (town Tomsk-7) in April, 1993. 6 refs.; 2 figs.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

In the Western Canada Basin, Triassic sedimentary rocks were deposited as a northeasterly-tapering wedge of sediment on the Triassic cratonic Interior Platform and adjacent miogeoclinal areas and occurring within the present day Interior Plains and Rocky Mountain Foothills and Front Ranges of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and northeastern British Columbia. Continued drilling activity and recent significant discoveries such as the Spirit River, Brassey, Ring-Pedigree ('Border'), Sukunka, Bullmoose West fields, and new unnamed fields in the Brazion-Monkman area, confirm the petroleum potential of Triassic rocks in this basin. A bibliography of 382 publications and a short test that summarizes the regional setting, stratigraphy and petroleum geology of these Triassic rocks, are provided. This paper is designed to help explorationists or geological researchers become more familiar with Western Canada Basin Triassic rocks and relevant literature. The ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Violation of correspondence principle may occur for very macroscopic byt isolated quantum systems on rather short timescales as illustrated by the case of Hyperion, the chaotically tumbling moon of Saturn, for which quantum and classical predictions are expected to diverge on a timescale of approximately 20 years. Motivated by Hyperion, we review salient features of ``quantum chaos`` and show that decoherence is the essential ingredient of the classical limit, as it enables one to solve the apparent paradox caused by the breakdown of the correspondence principle for classically chaotic systems.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Purpose - The purpose of the paper is to draw together the salient issues surrounding customer loyalty and customer relationship management (CRM) into a single coherent discussion. Various schools of academic thought are examined. The paper concludes with practical implications for managers. Design/methodology/approach - The literature surrounding customer loyalty, customer satisfaction, effective CRM and managing loyalty in a profitable manner are all reviewed. The paper allows managers to consider a wide range of material in the context of their business. Findings - The need for businesses to retain customers is an important issue in today's global marketplace. To retain customers, a business must forge loyal and long-term relationships with profitable customers. Reasons why customers le...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Large depositional oil traps (Priob, Sugmut, etc.) have been discovered in the West Siberian Neocomian. Sequence stratigraphic analysis of well logs and seismic reflection profiles demonstrate that reservoirs of these fields represent sands deposited during lowstand, transgressive and highstand phases of relative sea level cycles. Transgressions and regressions advanced in regional longitudinal and local latitudinal directions. The regional longitudinal pattern is dominated by westward prograding clinoforms formed as the sediment supply exceeded the accommodation space. Local northward and northwestward prograding complexes appear to be controlled by local basin-floor topography. In each systems tract, the coastal zones were landward from the shelf-breaks resulting in dominance of marine facies at each depositional shelf-edge. Lowstand systems tracts are represented on the upper slope by prograding wedges with thin shelfal equivalents or correlative unconformities. ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The NIS-6 group at Los Alamos National Laboratory pioneered the development of Tomographic Gamma Scanning and continue to improve its utility in real measurement situations. Building on this experience we report the development of a state of the art TGS system suitable for industrial applications. The image reconstruction and visualization software has been integrated into the familiar Canberra NDA2000 software suite which also handles all other aspects of the data acquisition and management. In this paper we describe the salient design and performance parameters of the system. The application of gamma-ray tomography to safeguards for improved assay accuracy and knowledge confirmation is discussed. In particular we compare and contrast the relative merits of this TGS and a traditional Segmented Gamma Scanner and illustrate how the 3-D visualization of the TGS image can provide valuable additional information.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Summary: Analysis of biological networks requires assessing the statistical significance of network-based predictions by using a realistic null model. However, the existing network null model, switch randomization, is unsuitable for metabolic networks, as it does not include physical constraints and generates unrealistic reactions. We present JMassBalance, a tool for mass-balanced randomization and analysis of metabolic networks. The tool allows efficient generation of large sets of randomized networks under the physical constraint of mass balance. In addition, various structural properties of the original and randomized networks can be calculated, facilitating the identification of the salient properties of metabolic networks with a biologically meaningful null model. Availability and Imp...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Competitive bidding for ancillary services (A/S), in addition to bidding for energy, is increasingly recognized as an important part of electricity markets. In this paper, an LP-based approach is presented for solving the multi-product (i.e. energy and A/S products), multi-zone/area physical market dispatch problem. The approach can explicitly represent various constraints, such as reserve requirement constraints, network security limits, and sharing of constrained resource capacity (e.g. maximum unit generation) between energy and reserve. The joint dispatch method, which dispatches energy and reserve market concurrently, is extended to allow inter-zonal reserve trading in multi-zone competitive pool. Numerical examples are included to demonstrate the salient characteristics of the joint dispatch solution.

Science.gov (United States)

As a US Department of Energy (DOE) laboratory, Sandia Laboratories is developing Darrieus vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) technology with the objective of encouraging private industry to produce economically feasible, commercially marketable wind energy systems. The first full cycle of development is essentially complete, and resulting current technology designs have been evaluated for cost-effectiveness. Aerodynamic, structural, and system analyses capabilities have evolved during this cycle to support and evaluate the system designs. This report presents some of the more salient recent developments, first generation costs, current activities, and future plans. Potential design improvements identified in the first development cycle are presented along with their cost benefits.

Science.gov (United States)

Extensive laboratory and industrial tests are being conducted at the Western Siberian Iron and Steel Works (I and SW) on the adoption of preheating of coking. The present article describes the results of laboratory investigations of the effect of the free oxygen content in the gaseous heat carrier and the final charge preheating temperature on the technological properties of the charge and the quality of the blast furnace coke, as well as the yield and quality of the coking products: 1. An increase in the free oxygen concentration in the heat carrier to 8% degrades the strength properties of the coke - the crushability and abradability are increased. 2. Charge preheating to 200 to 250/sup 0/C, even with a low oxygen concentration in the heat carrier, is accompanied by degradation of the physical and mechanical properties of the coke. 3. The optimal temperature of charge preheating before coking at the Western Siberia I and SW was found to be in the 150 to 200/sup ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The structural parameters of various Haegg phases (H or M_n_+_1AX_n phases) are studied experimentally by x-ray and electron spectroscopies, x-ray diffraction, and ab initio full potential as well as full mutiple scattering theoretical calculations. Experimentally it was found that the structure of all ternary compounds analyzed herein are relaxed. The values of the lattice parameters and relaxations obtained from ab initio calculations are in excellent agreement with those deduced from the analysis of the experimental data. The bonding scheme has been analyzed and the charge transfer between constituting atoms determined. It is demonstrated that the strength and electrical transport properties in these materials are principally governed by the metallic planes. For the solid solution (Ti_0_._5Nb_0_._5)_2AlC, the most salient result is that the basal planes are corrugated, which could explain the solid solution scattering observed in this H phase.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Commissioning of a Pressurized heavy water reactor (PHWR) plant of NPCIL involves three phases viz phase-A which consist of pre-criticality activities such as hydro test, air hold test, no load test of motors etc., phase-B consist of criticality and post criticality physics experiments. The phase-C, which is considered the major phase, consist of initial power raise to about 10 % , TG rolling, synchronization, going to significant power in steps and performance tests such as load rejection tests from various power levels. In order to have smooth commissioning for the Phase-C, an integrated team consisting of engineers from various design and analysis groups of NPCIL headquarters was formed to participate along with site O and M engineers, closely observe and coordinate phase-C commissioning activities. During this commissioning some major events and observations took place. An attempt is made to bring out the salient observations of Tarapur-4 Phase-C commissioning. ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

This introductory text treats thermodynamics as an incomplete description of quantum systems with many degrees of freedom. Its main goal is to show that the approach to equilibrium -with equilibrium characterized by maximum ignorance about the open system of interest- neither requires that many particles nor is the precise way of partitioning, relevant for the salient features of equilibrium and equilibration. Furthermore, the text depicts that it is indeed quantum effects that are at work in bringing about thermodynamic behavior of modest-sized open systems, thus making Von Neumann's concept of entropy appear much more widely useful than sometimes feared, far beyond truly macroscopic systems in equilibrium. This significantly revised and expanded second edition pays more attention to the growing number of applications, especially non-equilibrium phenomena and thermodynamic processes of the nano-domain. In addition, to improve readability and reduce unneeded ...

CERN Document Server

Two headed motor proteins, such as kinesin and dynein, hidrolyze environmental ATP in order to propel unidirectionally along cytoskeletal filaments such as microtubules. In the case of kinesin, protein heads bind primarily on the alpha tubulin site of asymmetric alpha-beta 8nm-long tubulin dimers that constitute the microtubular protofilaments. Kinesin dimers overcome local binding forces up to 5pN and are known to move on protofilaments with ATP concentration-dependent speeds while hydrolizing on average one ATP molecule per 8nm step. The salient features of protein trajectories are the distinct abrupt usually 8nm-long steps from one tubulin dimer to the next interlaced with long quiescent binding periods at a tubulin site. Discrete walks of this type are characterized by substantially reduced variances compared to pure biased random walks, and as a result rule out flashing-type ratchet models as possible mechanisms for motor movement. On the other hand, simple ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The umbrella magnetic structure of the terbium iron garnet (TbIG) has been studied using neutron diffraction experiments peformed in the 4.2 to 650 K temperature range which covers both the Neel temperature (Tsub(N) = 550 +- 10 K) and the compensation temperature (Tsub(comp) = 244 +- 2 K). When T > Tsub(N), the observed peak intensities originate from nuclear contribution only. When Tsub(comp) < T < Tsub(N), the results have been interpreted in the Neel theory of ferrimagnetism. Below Tsub(comp), three salient features have been observed: there appears superstructure lines forbiden by the cubic space group Ia3d, whereas the other superstructure peaks are found absent contrary to other heavy rare earth garnets; the strongest reflexion (110) vanishes near Tsub(comp). The magnetic modes associated to the rhombohedral symmetry space group R(-3)c have been calculated; the two inequivalent magnetic sites C_1 and C'_1 of the Tb"3"+ ion have been described. The ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Based on the tried and proven 32/40 diesel engine MAN B and W Diesel AG has developed a dual fuel gas engine covering a rate from 2.4 to 7.2 MW for stationary application in cogeneration and power stations. This paper reports the salient points of the 32/40 DG development project from the concept phase through to prototype testing. To reach the targets a dual fuel prechamber combustion system was developed using an externally arranged, cylinder individual gas admission for the main combustion chamber and a pilot fuel injection to the prechamber. Due to the high thermal and mechanical load sustaining capability of the strong-built heavy fuel diesel engine, bmep (19.9 bar) and efficiency (42.6%) in excess of the targets were achieved with a more than satisfactory life of components. Moreover, the NO{sub x} limit of 500 mg/m{sup 3} as specified in the German TA Luft was successfully met.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The broad bands in the room-temperature excitation spectra of Sm"3"+-, Dy"3"+- and Tm"3"+-activated Ca-#alpha#-SiAlON phosphors are interpreted as the N"3"--to-rare earth charge transfer transition (CTT). From the energies of the charge transfer transitions and from the optical data presented for the Eu"2"+ ion, the location of the divalent rare earth ion energy levels relative to the valence and the conduction band of Ca-#alpha#-SiAlON is derived. The salient features of the energy-level diagram are shown to be practical in explaining the temperature-dependent variations of the Eu"2"+ and Yb"2"+ luminescence efficiency in Ca-#alpha#-SiAlON. A comparative study pertaining to the nature of the Yb"2"+ and Eu"2"+ ion luminescence in Ca-#alpha#-SiAlON and in SrSi_2O_2N_2 is presented. A tentative energy-level diagram of the trivalent rare earth ions in Ca-#alpha#-SiAlON is also constructed.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

This paper gives a brief review about the state of knowledge on the distributional aspects of climate change impacts. The paper is largely limited to the distribution of impacts between countries (in Section 2). Although there are virtually no estimates reported in the literature, the distribution of impacts within countries is also important. Impact estimates for different sectors (agriculture, health, sea level rise) provides little guidance for estimating differential impacts within countries. It is even harder to find estimates based on social classes. The paper restricts itself to equity about the consequences of climate change. Equity issues about the consequences of emission reduction are ignored here, but should of course be part of a policy analysis. Equity issues about procedures for decision making are also ignored. The paper is organised as follows. Section 2 reviews recent estimates of the regional impacts of climate change. Section 3 discusses alternative ways of ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This study focuses the granitoids of center-southern portion of Guyana Shield, southeastern Roraima, Brazil. The region is characterized by two tectonic-stratigraphic domains, named as Central Guyana (GCD) and Uatuma-Anaua (UAD) and located probably in the limits of geochronological provinces (e.g. Ventuari-Tapajos or Tapajos-Parima, Central Amazonian and Maroni-Itacaiunas or Transamazon). The aim this doctoral thesis is to provide new petrological and lithostratigraphic constraints on the granitoid rocks and contribute to a better understanding of the origin and geo dynamic evolution of Guyana Shield. The GCD is only locally studied near to the UAD boundary, and new geological data and two single zircon Pb-evaporation ages in mylonitic biotite granodiorite (1.89 Ga) and foliated hastingsite-biotite granite (1.72 Ga) are presented. These ages of the protholiths contrast with the lithostratigraphic picture in the other areas of Cd (1.96-1.93 Ga). Regional mapping, petrography, ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

This study was carried out mainly to produce uranium trioxide (UO_3), matching standard commercial specification from rock phosphate deposits in Uro and Kurun at eastern part of the Nuba Mountains. A simplified hydrometallurgical procedure has been adopted for production of yellow cake from the ore. The powdered ore sample was leached with concentrated H_2SO_4 acid with and without addition of KCIO_3 as an oxidant. The crude yellow cake was precipitated from the resulting green solution of phosphoric acid as Na_2U_2O_7 and (NH_4)_2U_2O_7 and subsequently purified by TBP extraction (tributylphosphate) and hydrogen peroxide as UO_4.2H_2O. TBP purified product was dried and calcined to UO_3 whereas UO_4.2H-2O was dried and reduced to UO_3 by Na_2S_2O_3. Prior to precipitation of crude yellow cake, Fe in the phosphoric acid solution was precipitated using magnesia. Elemental analysis has shown that the ore is rich in Ca and deficient in elements of potential interest such as Fe, Cu and Zn. ...