Search results for "MINERALOGY"
showing 10 items of 1516 documents
Investigation of Oxygen-Related Luminescence Centres in AlN Ceramics
2000
The structure of oxygen-related luminescence centres in nominally undoped and Y 2 O 3 doped AlN ceramics was investigated by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), electron nuclear double resonance (ENDOR) and optically-detected EPR. The photoluminescence-detected EPR lines having g-values of 1.990 and 2.008 were assigned to a recombination between neighbouring donor and acceptor pairs. The two EPR lines at g = 1.987 and 2.003 detected via the recombination luminescence in the afterglow are thought to be due to a recombination between the same, but distant donor and acceptor pairs. The donor was previously speculated to be an electron trapped on an oxygen impurity which substitutes for a ni…
Evidence for a biogenic, microorganismal origin of rock varnish from the Gangdese Belt of Tibet
2010
In the present study we examined material from the Ashikule Basin of Tibet. Chemical analyses were performed by use of energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and electron probe microanalysis to clarify whether the varnish layers that had developed on the surface of the rhyolite are indeed composed of varnish bodies and silica glaze. Electron microscopic analyses revealed that the surface of the varnish is covered both by filamentous hyphae bacterial and cocci-shaped forms. Within the varnish mineral layer in those samples two forms of bacteria-like microorganisms exist; cocci as tightly packed bacterial aggregates [within varnish bodies], and bacillus-like microorganisms [within the varnish m…
Characterization of Sorolla's gouache pigments by means of spectroscopic techniques
2016
Abstract This paper presents the characterization of the Joaquin Sorolla's gouache sketches for the oil on canvas series “Vision of Spain” commissioned by A. M. Huntington to decorate the library of the Hispanic Society of America in New York. The analyses were focused on the identification of the elemental composition of the gouache pigments by means of portable EDXRF spectrometry in a non-destructive mode. Additionally, SEM-EDX and FTIR analyses of a selected set of micro-samples were carried out to identify completely the pigments, the paint technique and the binding media. The obtained results have confirmed the identification of lead and zinc white, vermillion, earth pigments, ochre, z…
Effects of acids used in the microabrasion technique: microhardness and confocal microscopy analysis
2015
Background: This study evaluated the effects of the acids used in the microabrasion on enamel. Material and Methods: Seventy enamel/dentine blocks (25 mm 2 ) of bovine incisors were divided into 7 groups (n=10). Experimental groups were treated by active/passive application of 35% H 3 PO 4 (E1/E2) or 6.6% HCl (E3/ E4). Control groups were treated by microabrasion with H 3 PO 4 +pumice (C5), HCl+silica (C6), or no treatment (C7). The superficial (SMH) and cross-sectional (CSMH; depths of 10, 25, 50, and 75 μm) microhardness of enamel were analyzed. Morphology was evaluated by confocal laser-scanning microscopy (CLSM). Data were analyzed by analysis of variance (Proc Mixed), Tukey, and Dunnet…
Chemical composition of modern and fossil Hippopotamid teeth and implications for paleoenvironmental reconstructions and enamel formation – Part 1: M…
2012
Bioapatite in mammalian teeth is readily preserved in continental sediments and represents a very important archive for reconstructions of environment and climate evolution. This project provides a comprehensive data base of major, minor and trace element and isotope tracers for tooth apatite using a variety of microanalytical techniques. The aim is to identify specific sedimentary environments and to improve our understanding on the interaction between internal metabolic processes during tooth formation and external nutritional control and secondary alteration effects. Here, we use the electron microprobe to determine the major and minor element contents of fossil and modern molar enamel, …
Geomaterials in green building practices: comparative characterization of commercially available clay-based plasters
2013
Three pre-mixed powdered clay-based (earthen) plasters produced in Europe and specifically designed for wall undercoating were analyzed in this paper. These materials are commercially available and successfully employed in green building practices all over the world. Their compositional and textural characteristics, as well as plastic behaviour were investigated through a multi-analytical approach: X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD), polarized light microscopy (PLM), X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRFS), scanning electron microscopy equipped with an energy dispersive spectrometer (SEM-EDS), mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP), grain-size distribution (GSD) and semi-empirical tests (Atterberg…
Characterization of the Etna volcanic emissions through an active biomonitoring technique (moss-bags): Part 2 – Morphological and mineralogical featu…
2013
Volcanic emissions were studied at Mount Etna (Italy) by using moss-bags technique. Mosses were exposed around the volcano at different distances from the active vents to evaluate the impact of volcanic emissions in the atmosphere. Morphology and mineralogy of volcanic particulate intercepted by mosses were investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS). Particles emitted during passive degassing activity from the two active vents, Bocca Nuova and North East Crater (BNC and NEC), were identified as silicates, sulfates and halide compounds. In addition to volcanic particles, we found evidences also of geogenic, anthropogenic and marin…
X-RAY TOMOGRAPHY STUDIES OF PREHISTORIC CERAMIC ARTIFACTS
2014
X-ray Computed Tomography (CT) is a powerful non-destructive technique that can yield interesting structural information not discernible through visual examination only. This paper presents the results of the CT scans of four objects belonging to the Romanian cultural heritage attributed to the Vinča, Cucuteni and Cruceni-Belegiš cultures. The study was performed with an X-ray tomographic device developed at the Department for Applied Nuclear Physics from Horia Hulubei National Institute for Nuclear Physics and Engineering in Măgurele, Romania. This apparatus was specially designed for archaeometric studies of low-Z artifacts: ceramic, wood, bone. The tomographic investigations revealed th…
Connected pathway relative permeability from pore-scale imaging of imbibition
2016
Abstract Pore-scale images obtained from a synchrotron-based X-ray computed micro-tomography (µCT) imbibition experiment in sandstone rock were used to conduct Navier–Stokes flow simulations on the connected pathways of water and oil phases. The resulting relative permeability was compared with steady-state Darcy-scale imbibition experiments on 5 cm large twin samples from the same outcrop sandstone material. While the relative permeability curves display a large degree of similarity, the endpoint saturations for the µCT data are 10% in saturation units higher than the experimental data. However, the two datasets match well when normalizing to the mobile saturation range. The agreement is p…
Speciation and Mobility of Arsenic in Agricultural Lime
2009
Agricultural liming materials are used to correct soil acidity and to improve plant growth and microbial functionality. A relatively low-grade agricultural lime was found to contain up to 125 mg kg(-1) arsenic (As), which is above any fertilizing materials code threshold. The color of the milled material is brown due to ample oxide dendrites. Microprobe elemental maps confirmed that these accessory oxide mineral phases are responsible for the elevated As concentrations in the limestone. The black Mn-bearing dendrites contain minor amounts of As, whereas the brown Fe-bearing dendrites contain the major part of the As inventory, with an Fe/As molar ratio around 100. Because the elemental maps…