Atomic secrets and governmental lies : nuclear science, politics and security in the Pontecorvo case

This paper focuses on the defection of nuclear physicist Bruno Pontecorvo from Britain to the USSR in 1950 in an attempt to understand how government and intelligence services assess threats deriving from the unwanted spread of secret scientific information. It questions whether contingent agendas play a role in these assessments, as new evidence suggests that this is exactly what happened in the Pontecorvo case. British diplomatic personnel involved in negotiations with their US counterparts considered playing down the case. Meanwhile, the press decided to play it up, claiming that Pontecorvo was an atom spy. Finally, the British secret services had evidence showing that this was a fabrication, but they did not disclose it. If all these manipulations served various purposes, then they certainly were not aimed at assessing if there was a threat and what this threat really was

Application of LANDSAT satellite imagery for iron ore prospecting in the Western Desert of Egypt

Prospecting for iron ore occurrences was conducted by the Remote Sensing Center in Bahariya Oasis-El Faiyum area covering some 100,000 km squared in the Western Desert of Egypt. LANDSAT-1 satellite images were utilized as the main tool in the regional prospecting of the iron ores. The delineation of the geological units and geological structure through the interpretation of the images corroborated by field observations and structural analysis led to the discovery of new iron ore occurrences in the area of investigation

Anomaly Effects of Arrays for 3d Geoelectrical Resistivity Imaging using Orthogonal or Parallel 2d Profiles

The effectiveness of using a net of orthogonal or parallel sets of two-dimensional (2D) profiles for threedimensional (3D) geoelectrical resistivity imaging has been evaluated. A series of 2D apparent resistivity data were generated over two synthetic models which represent geological or environmental conditions for a typical weathered profile and waste dump site, respectively, commonly associated with geophysical applications for hydrogeological, environmental and engineering investigations. Several minimum electrode separations and inter-line spacing were used to generate the apparent resistivity data for each electrode array with a view to determining the optimum inter-line spacing relative to the minimum electrode separation. The 2D apparent resistivity data for each array were collated to 3D data sets. The effectiveness and efficiency of the arrays in 3D geoelectrical resistivity imaging were evaluated by determining the mean absolute anomaly effects of the electrodes arrays on the synthetic models. The anomaly effects observed in dipole-dipole (DDP), pole-dipole (PDP) and Wenner- Schlumberger (WSC) arrays were generally larger than that observed in other arrays considered. The least anomaly effect on the synthetic models was observed in pole-pole (PP) array. This indicates that DDP, PDP and WSC arrays are more sensitive to 3D features. In all the arrays, the anomaly effects observed in the data set generated using the conventional square grids were slightly larger than those from parallel or orthogonal 2D profiles. This slight increase is attributed to the increased data density and is insignificant when compared with those of parallel and orthogonal 2D profiles. Hence, the use of parallel or orthogonal 2D profiles for 3D geoelectrical resistivity survey is effective

Application of LANDSAT satellite imagery for iron ore prospecting in the western desert of Egypt

The author has identified the following significant results. The delineation of the geological units and geological structures through image interpretation, corroborated by field observations and structural analysis, led to the discovery of new iron ore deposits. A new locality for iron ore deposition, namely Gebel Qalamun, was discovered, as well as new occurrences within the already known iron ore region of Bahariya Oasis

Uranium exploration methodology in cold climates

The uranium prospecting boom of the past decade had, as a major consequence, the rapid development and proliferation of exploration methods for source materials. Numerous established methods were developed and refined whilst new techniques were introduced proving, in some instances, to be highly successful. To the explorationist the proliferation of instrumental hardware and detection systems was something of a headache with the result that in uranium exploration, more so than in other types of prospecting, the choice of exploration method at the appropriate stage of prospecting was frequently ill founded. The situation also spawned ‘black box’ purveyors who made extravagant claims for their equipment. Money was wasted through over kill applications of exploration method accompanied in many instances by deficiencies in the interpretation of results. This project was originally conceived as a means of evaluating, reviewing and filtering from a burgeoning array of systems the most appropriate exploration techniques applicable to cold climate environments. This goal has been trimmed somewhat since it had been hoped to incorporate site investigation data assembled in the field by the writer as appropriate case history material. This was not possible and as a consequence this report is a 'state of the art review' of the applicability of currently available techniques in Arctic and Subarctic environments. Reference is made to published case history data, where appropriate, supportive of the techniques or methods reviewed.Abstract -- Introduction -- Prospecting methods in relation to Arctic and Subarctic environments -- Review of direct exploration methods -- Radiometric methods -- Airborne spectrometry -- Car borne and hand held instrumentation -- Geochemical methods -- Soil and stream sediment methods -- Geobotanical methods -- Water sampling - Hydrogeochemical methods -- Other metods -- Optimal exploration method selection -- References -- Table of exploration methods discussed in this report

IMPROVING THE METHOD OF OPEN-PIT LIGNITE DEPOSITS DEVELOPMENT IN UKRAINE

Subject of the research is open-pit mining concerning a full- field industrial development of a number of lignite deposits; feasibility study has been performed for them as for the efficient environmental friendly processing of coal and associated minerals. Objective of the research is to develop both methodology and conceptual approaches to high-productive, economically viable, and environmental friendly methods for open-pit lignite mining in the context of suprasalt depressive basins. Task of the research is to analyze the current state of lignite mining in Ukraine; to characterize a new genetic Ukrainian coal type from geological and industrial viewpoint; to substantiate parameters of lignite open-pit mining on the basis of Novo-Dmytrivka mining and industrial district; to expand the capacities of lignite mining on the basis of Novo-Dmytrivka, Bantysh, Stepkivka, and Bereka deposits; to substantiate the integrated use of diverse rock masses in the context of the national economy; to use lignite in terms of its power; to produce montan wax; to apply sodium humite in the context of agriculture; to use overburden rocks for the construction of bordering dams of powerful water storages; and to develop recommendations concerning the design of Novo-Dmytrivka mining and industrial system with the integrated development of lignite and associated minerals. Methods of the research are: analytical estimation of resources of lignite deposits; geological and engineering-technical analysis; and integrated and feasibility studies of indices of mining and opening operations. Optimization of the process solutions relies upon the analysis of changes in rock mass coefficient use within the open-pit area in the context of complete land reclamation of the disturbed land and the development of new productive land instead of the littered territories. The updated research method is to determine the basic technological parameters of equipment taking into consideration significant water inflow in terms of working areas as well as the inflows effect on the output of the lignite open pit depending upon changes in the depth of mine workings. The carried out research helped study more thoroughly the geological and engineering-technical features of lignite deposits in Ukraine. Their geological structures, coal-bearing capacity and the coal grades, total reserves, and their commercial significance have been determined. Parameters of benches and working sites have been substantiated. The parameters make it possible to decrease the current volume of overburden rock mining and to transfer their maximum values to the final stage of the open pit operation. Rational systems of mining and transportation equipment for the development of the open-pit field in terms of criteria of capacity, efficiency, and power consumption have been substantiated involving different traffic flows of rock mass movement in open pits and at the surface. There were issued recommendations to design the development of Novo-Dmytrivka lignite deposit. Relying upon the analyzed deposits of north-west Donbas, it is expedient to develop the unified coal-mining complex for the processing of lignite and associated minerals to be used by plants of building materials and structures as well as chemical and metallurgical plants as the basic raw material. There has been substantiated a possibility of commercial development of a number of lignite deposits in Ukraine to develop mining and preproduction complex with coal output at the level of 9-10 min t/y and 23-24 min t/y of coaly mass as well as their processing by thermal power station which capacity is 1800-2400 MW; a plant to produce 15 thousand tons of montan wax a year; briquetting factory which capacity is 2 min t/y; and a concrete product plant to manufacture building structures with a capacity of 1 min of m2/y

Site investigation techniques for DNAPL source and plume zone characterisation

Establishing the location of the Source Area BioREmediation (SABRE) research cell was a primary objective of the site characterisation programme. This bulletin describes the development of a two-stage site characterisation methodology that combined qualitative and quantitative data to guide and inform an assessment of dense nonaqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) distribution at the site. DNAPL site characterisation has traditionally involved multiple phases of site investigation, characterised by rigid sampling and analysis programmes, expensive mobilisations and long decision-making timeframes (Crumbling, 2001a) , resulting in site investigations that are costly and long in duration. Here we follow the principles of an innovative framework, termed Triad (Crumbling, 2001a, 2001b; Crumbling et al., 2001, Crumbling et al. 2003), which describes a systematic approach for the characterisation and remediation of contaminated sites. The Triad approach to site characterisation focuses on three main components: a) systematic planning which is implemented with a preliminary conceptual site model from existing data. The desired outcomes are planned and decision uncertainties are evaluated; b) dynamic work strategies that focus on the need for flexibility as site characterisation progresses so that new information can guide the investigation in real-time and c) real-time measurement technologies that are critical in making dynamic work strategies possible. Key to this approach is the selection of suitable measurement technologies, of which there are two main categories (Crumbling et al., 2003). The first category provides qualitative, dense spatial data, often with detection limits over a preset value. These methods are generally of lower cost, produce real-time data and are primarily used to identify site areas that require further investigation. Examples of such "decisionquality" methods are laser induced fluorescence (Kram et al., 2001), membrane interface probing (McAndrews et al., 2003) and cone penetrometer testing (Robertson, 1990), all of which produce data in continuous vertical profiles. Because these methods are rapid, many profiles can be generated and hence the subsurface data density is greatly improved. These qualitative results are used to guide the sampling strategy for the application of the second category of technologies that generate quantitative, precise data that have low detection limits and are analyte-specific. These methods tend to be high cost with long turnaround times that preclude on-site decision making, hence applying them to quantify rather than produce a conceptual model facilitates a key cost saving. Examples include instrumental laboratory analyses such as soil solvent extractions (Parker et al., 2004)and water analyses (USEPA, 1996). Where these two categories of measurement technologies are used in tandem, a more complete and accurate dataset is achieved without additional site mobilisations. The aim of the site characterisation programme at the SABRE site was to delineate the DNAPL source zone rapidly and identify a location for the in situ research cell. The site characterisation objectives were to; a) test whether semi-quantitative measurement techniques could reliably determine geological interfaces, contaminant mass distribution and inform the initial site conceptual model; and b) quantitatively determine DNAPL source zone distribution, guided by the qualitative site conceptual model

Sustainable groundwater exploitation in Nigeria

In this study, a critical review of the groundwater resources history and management in Nigeria was done. The aim was to identify reasons why groundwater is increasingly being exploited in recent times, and to explore ways through which the exploitation could be done sustainably. This was achieved through literature review. It was observed that an estimated 60% of Nigeria’s population get drinking water from ground resources. This high statistic is mostly the resultant effect of infrastructural decay in the potable water supply sector of the country. In Nigeria, just 14 % of the country’s population get regular water supply through piped sources while the remainder of the country’s 162.5 million people draw their water supply mainly from surface and groundwater sources. Groundwater, in Nigeria, is accessed mainly in form of shallow (hand-dug) and deep (boreholes) wells. Well water withdrawal activities are mostly un-regulated and, therefore, the water sources are often subjected to avoidable abuses and pollutions. In particular, rapid urbanization, agricultural and industrial activities are major contributors of pollutions to groundwater sources. Also, unavailability of data such as geographical information on water quantity, hydrology, state of aquifer and withdrawal limits have contributed to the unsustainable use of groundwater in Nigeria. It was recommended that proper regulation of groundwater resources and its protection under the land use act of 1978 could be instrumental to its sustainable exploitatio