Search results for "Weathering"
showing 10 items of 138 documents
Theoretical study on the decomposition mechanism of bisphenol A polycarbonate induced by the combined effect of humidity and UV irradiation.
2020
Polycarbonate (PC) is a good material for covering and protecting cultural heritage sites because of its durability, mechanical properties, and transparency. When bisphenol A polycarbonate is subjected to weathering conditions this polymer shows several degradation processes depending on the irradiation wavelength, humidity and temperature. In particular, the combined effects of humidity and UV irradiation speed up the PC molecular weight reduction. In this work, the decomposition mechanisms associated to the hydrolysis process are scrutinized and the effects of UV irradiation on the hydrolysis process are evaluated throughout the Density Functional Theory (DFT) approach. It was found that …
Linking tephrochronology and soil characteristics in the Sila and Nebrodi mountains, Italy
2017
Recent studies have demonstrated that soils formed on pyroclastic ash deposits are much more common in the Mediterranean area than previously assumed. These soils are an important key to understanding past volcanic events and landscape evolution. Chronological information in soils of Quaternary volcanic events, however, remains still poorly understood in southern Italy. Using a multi-method forensic approach, we explore the origin and age of volcanic deposits (soils) in Sicily and Calabria. The geochemical signature of the soil was compared to the chemical fingerprint of the magmas of potential source areas of southern Italian volcanoes. The results indicate that the investigated soils on t…
Soil development on sediments and evaporites of the Messinian crisis
2020
Abstract Vast areas in the Mediterranean are characterised by evaporite deposits of the Messinian crises (c. 6–5.3 Ma BP). During this period, large deposits were built up in shallow lagoon-like systems and are now found in southern Italy, Albania, Cyprus and Turkey. So far, soil formation on evaporites has been studied predominantly in subarid to arid environments. Although the formation of soils has received new significance, little is known about the evolutional trajectories on evaporites of the Mediterranean. We therefore studied soil formation in the Caltanissetta basin (Sicily) where evaporites are most widespread. The lithologies included the sequence: marine clay deposits, laminated…
Chronospeciation of uranium released in soil during a long-term DU shell weathering experiment.
2021
Corrosion process was investigated of depleted uranium (DU) ammunition fragments buried for three years in aerobic soils continuously irrigated with water. The continuing corrosion process was triggered through formation of soluble uranyl oxyhydrate phases such as metaschoepite and becquerelite, which were identified by micro-Raman and X-ray diffraction spectroscopy. The soil was not amended by phosphates and, therefore, no uranyl phosphates were found as corrosion products on the DU surfaces by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. A speciation modelling at high temporal sequence (chronospeciation approach) indicated that the abundant Fe oxyhydroxides in the soil immobilized the U(IV) released…
Trace elements in the thermal groundwaters of Vulcano Island (Sicily)
2000
The chemical concentrations of many trace elements that have never before been examined in Vulcano Island groundwaters are reported. Chemical data indicate that rock composition is not the only factor determining the metal content in the aqueous system. The observed concentrations depend mainly on: (1) the chemical composition of the host rocks; (2) the chemical–physical conditions of the weathering solution (temperature, acidity, redox conditions); (3) input of magmatic gases; (4) adsorption of metal ions on oxide particles, formation of soluble complexes and/or precipitation of solid phases. Chloride complexes in solution are of minimal significance for all elements with the exception of …
Plio-Pleistocene Dust Traps on Paleokarst Surfaces: A Case Study From the Carpathian Basin
2020
Plio-Pleistocene silt/clay-rich deposits and paleo-karst fissure sediments from sites of the northern and southern parts of the Carpathian Basin were investigated. These materials were supposed to be mixed during transport before being captured in karstified fissures. Evidence that the eolian fissure sediments of Plio-Pleistocene age in the older Triassic–Cretaceous limestones are derived from eolian silt and clay includes compositional and textural matches, especially decreasing grain-size trends observed downwards from the paleo-surface of the former landscape. Various environmental factors could be recognized by the statistical evaluation of grain-size distribution curves of fissure fill…
Disambiguating the soils of Mars
2020
Abstract Anticipated human missions to Mars require a methodical understanding of the unconsolidated bulk sediment that mantles its surface, given its role as an accessible resource for water and as a probable substrate for food production. However, classifying martian sediment as soil has been pursued in an ad hoc fashion, despite emerging evidence from in situ missions for current and paleo-pedological processes. Here we find that in situ sediment at Gusev, Meridiani and Gale are consistent with pedogenesis related to comminuted basalts mixing with older phyllosilicates – perhaps of pluvial origin – and sulfates. Furthermore, a notable presence of hydrated amorphous phases indicates signi…
Prediction of Soil Formation as a Function of Age Using the Percolation Theory Approach
2018
Recent modeling and comparison with field results showed that soil formation by chemical weathering, either from bedrock or unconsolidated material, is limited largely by solute transport. Chemical weathering rates are proportional to solute velocities. Nonreactive solute transport described by non-Gaussian transport theory appears compatible with soil formation rates. This change in understanding opens new possibilities for predicting soil production and depth across orders of magnitude of time scales. Percolation theory for modeling the evolution of soil depth and production was applied to new and published data for alpine and Mediterranean soils. The first goal was to check whether the e…
Eustasy and sea water Sr composition: application to high-resolution Sr-isotope stratigraphy of Miocene shallow-water carbonates
2007
Oceanic 87 Sr/ 86 Sr-isotope ratios are strongly influenced by rates of silicate weathering and therefore linked not only to glaciation but also to sea-level change. The present study combines analysis of sequence stratigraphy and basin architecture with Sr-isotope stratigraphy in Miocene shallow-water sediments in southern Portugal and Crete (Greece). The common method is to use smoothed global sea water Sr-isotope reference curves but here a different approach is chosen. Instead, measured Sr-isotope curves are correlated with unsmoothed reference curves by identification of similar fluctuations in the order of several 100 kyr. Transgressive intervals are characterized by increasing Sr-iso…
Black shale deposition during Toarcian super-greenhouse driven by sea level
2013
Abstract. One of the most elusive aspects of the Toarcian oceanic anoxic event (T-OAE) is the paradox between carbon isotopes that indicate intense global primary productivity and organic carbon burial at a global scale, and the delayed expression of anoxia in Europe. During the earliest Toarcian, no black shales were deposited in the European epicontinental seaways, and most organic carbon enrichment of the sediments postdated the end of the overarching positive trend in the carbon isotopes that characterises the T-OAE. In the present study, we have attempted to establish a sequence stratigraphic framework for Early Toarcian deposits recovered from a core drilled in the Paris Basin using a…