Search results for "rare"

En-Face differential absorption optical coherence tomography with gold nanorods as the contrast agent

2008

A new variety of nanoparticles showing unique and characteristic optical properties, appeals for its use as contrast agents in medical imaging. Gold nanospheres, nanorods and nanoshells with a silica core are new forms of promising contrast agents which can be tuned to specific absorption or scattering characteristics within the near-infrared (NIR) spectrum ranging from 650 - 1300 nm. They have the ability to be used for both image enhancement and as photosensitive markers due to their well designable scattering and absorption properties. Furthermore, their strong optical absorption permits treatment of malignant cells by photoablation processes, induced when heating them with a matched lig…

Spotlight on fundus autofluorescence

2018

Ana M Calvo-Maroto,1 Alejandro Cerviño2 1Department of Ophthalmology, Clínica Universidad de Navarra, University of Navarra, Madrid, Spain; 2Optometry Research Group, Department of Optics and Optometry and Vision Sciences, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain Abstract: Fundus autofluorescence (FAF) imaging is based on the fluorescence from ocular endogenous fluorophores located in the retinal pigment epithelium and choroid, mainly lipofuscin and melanin. It is a noninvasive technique that provides information about the spatial distribution of lipofuscin/melanin and retinal pigment epithelium health status. An overview about the fluorophores responsible for FAF imaging and t…

The behavior of Rare-Earth Elements, Zr and Hf during biologically-mediated deposition of silica-stromatolites and carbonate-rich microbial mats

2015

Abstract Venere Lake, in the Pantelleria Island thermal system (Central Mediterranean Sea) consists of a mix of seawater and hydrothermal volcanic fluids containing high levels of dissolved SiO 2 . Close to the lake's thermal springs, siliceous stromatolites are deposed under high bacterial activity conditions whereas roughly interlaminated Ca-carbonates and microbial mats are widely scattered in the lake. The dissolved REE speciation in lake waters is dominated by [REE(CO 3 ) 2 ] − , [REE(CO 3 )] + and [REE(H 3 SiO 4 )] 2 + complexes. On the contrary the most abundant Zr and Hf species are hydroxyl- and fluoride-complexes. The behavior of REE Zr and Hf in the Venere lake waters is controll…

Behavior of rare earth elements in an aquifer perturbed by CO2 injection: Environmental implications

2019

International audience; Three cubic-meters of CO2-saturated water was injected into a subsurface fractured aquifer in a post-mined area, using a push-pull test protocol. Groundwater samples were collected before and after CO2-injection to quantify geochemical changes. CO2-injection initially reduced the pH of water from 7.3 to 5.7, led to the enrichment of major ions (Ca2+, Mg2+, and alkalinity), and dissolved trace metals (including Fe, Mn, As, and Zn) in the groundwater. Rare earth elements (REE) and yttrium concentrations were also measured in these samples before and after CO2 perturbation, to evaluate their behavior. An enrichment of total Y plus REE (REY) occurred. REY fractionation w…

The Status of Romanogobio uranoscopus (Agassiz, 1828) Species, in Maramureş Mountains Nature Park (Romania)

2017

Abstract The condition of aquatic habitats typically occupied by Romanogobio uranoscopus within the Maramureş Mountains Natural Park fluctuates, in the best cases, between reduced to average. Good or excellent conservation status is now absent for populations of this species in the researched area. The identified human impact types (poaching, minor riverbeds morphodynamic changes, solid and liquid natural flow changes, destruction of the riparian vegetation and bush vegetation, habitat fragmentation/isolation of population, organic and mining pollution and displaced fish that are washed away during the periodic flooding in the lotic sectors uniformized by humans) are contributing to the dim…

2021

Abstract The spaceborne detection of volcanic ash clouds at infrared wavelengths helps to avoid regions with enhanced volcanic ash concentrations that pose a threat to aviation. Current volcanic ash data retrievals require detailed information on microphysical properties and the refractive index of volcanic ash, which are highly variable. Uncertainties in the latter currently limit the quality of volcanic ash nowcasts. Here, we introduce a novel method to calculate the complex refractive indices of volcanic ashes at wavelengths from 5 to 15 μm from measurements of their individual components based on generic petrological ash compositions. Thereby the refractive indices for volcanic glasses …

Passive vs. active degassing modes at an open-vent volcano (Stromboli, Italy)

2012

Abstract We report here on a UV-camera based field experiment performed on Stromboli volcano during 7 days in 2010 and 2011, aimed at obtaining the very first simultaneous assessment of all the different forms (passive and active) of SO 2 release from an open-vent volcano. Using the unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution of the UV camera, we obtained a 0.8 Hz record of the total SO 2 flux from Stromboli over a timeframe of ∼14 h, which ranged between 0.4 and 1.9 kg s −1 around a mean value of 0.7 kg s −1 and we concurrently derived SO 2 masses for more than 130 Strombolian explosions and 50 gas puffs. From this, we show erupted SO 2 masses have a variability of up to one order of mag…

Advances in Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy of natural glasses: From sample preparation to data analysis

2014

Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) is an analytical technique utilized to measure the concentrations of H and C species in volcanic glasses. Water and CO2 are the most abundant volatile species in volcanic systems. Water is present in magmas in higher concentrations than CO2 and is also more soluble at lower pressures, and, therefore it is the dominant volatile forming bubbles during volcanic eruptions. Dissolved water affects both phase equilibria and melt physical properties such as density and viscosity, therefore, water is important for understanding magmatic processes. Additionally, quantitative measurements of different volatile species using FTIR can be achieved at high s…

Pathways and fate of REE in the shallow hydrothermal aquifer of Vulcano island (Italy)

2019

Abstract We investigated the geochemical behaviour of major and Rare Earth Elements (REE), together with oxygen and deuterium isotopic composition in the aquifer of Vulcano, the southernmost island of the Aeolian archipelago (Italy). Studied wells, located at different distances from the crater, are characterised by different contributions of the rising volcanic fluids. In particular, those located in the proximity of La Fossa crater are affected by a strong interaction with volcanic-hydrothermal fluids and show REE behaviour similar to that of fresh rocks, suggesting a congruent dissolution of the solid matrix. Samples from the other wells, located in an area where the volcanic deposits ar…

Measurements of volcanic SO2 and CO2 fluxes by combined DOAS, Multi-GAS and FTIR observations: a case study from Turrialba and Telica volcanoes

2014

Over the past few decades, substantial progress has been made to overcome the technical difficulties of continuously measuring volcanic SO2 emissions. However, measurements of CO2 emissions still present many difficulties, partly due to the lack of instruments that can directly measure CO2 emissions and partly due to its strong atmospheric background. In order to overcome these difficulties, a commonly taken approach is to combine differential optical absorption spectroscopy (DOAS) by using NOVAC scan-DOAS instruments for continuous measurements of crateric SO2 emissions, and electrochemical/NDIR multi-component gas analyser system (multi-GAS) instruments for measuring CO2/SO2 ratios of exc…