On the Geochemistry of the Danube River Sediments (Serbian Sector)

To determine the nature and origin of the unconsolidated bottom sediments, as well as to demonstrate and quantify the presence of Presumably Contaminating Elements (PCE) in the Serbian Danube River, as a novelty, the mass fractions on nine major elements as oxides—SiO2, TiO2, Al2O3, FeO, MnO, MgO, CaO, Na2O, and K2O, as well as Sc, V, Cr, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Rb, Sr, Zr, Sb, Cs, Ba, La, Hf, Ta, W, Th, and U were determined by Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA) in 13 sediment samples collected between Belgrade and Iron Gate 2 dam. INAA was chosen for its ability to perform elemental analysis without any preliminary sample treatment that could introduce systematic errors. The distribution of major elements was relatively uniform, with the sampling locations having less influence. Concerning the trace elements, excepting the PCE Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, and Sb, their distributions presented the same remarkable similarity to the Upper Continental Crust (UCC), North American Shale Composite (NASC), Average Bottom Load (ABL), and Average Dobrogea Loess (AVL), and were in good concordance with the location of the Serbian Danube River in the Pannonian Plain. In the case of considered PCE, both Enrichment Factor and Pollution Load Index showed values higher than the pollution threshold, which pointed towards a significant anthropogenic contamination, and rising concern to what extent the water quality and biota could be affected

Geosciences / Miocene Slănic Tuff, Eastern Carpathians, Romania, in the context of Badenian salinity crisis

New geochronological investigations for the Slănic Formation, correlated with previous bio- and lithostratigaphical information, allow for a better succession of events for the Middle Miocene, including the absolute age of the Badenian salinity crisis in the bend sector of the Eastern Carpathians. Within the green Slănic Tuff, white tuff layers were in evidence. The main element distribution of the white and green tuffs indicates a dacitic composition, with higher SiO2 content for the white tuff. The white tuff has a distinct mineralogical composition with quartz, plagioclase, biotite and clinoptilolite. From such a tuff layer a biotite concentrate gives a 40Ar/39Ar age of 13.7 0.2 Ma. As above these tuff layers discrete levels of gypsum occur, the age documents the beginning of the restrictive circulation and formation of evaporites in this sector of Carpathians during Badenian times.(VLID)251000

The Geochemistry of 1 ky Old Euxinic Sediments of the Western Black Sea

To get more data on the geochemistry of Black Sea euxinic sediments, a 50-cm core was collected at a depth of 600 m on a Western Black Sea Continental Platform slope. The core contained unconsolidated sediments rich in cocoolithic ooze and mud. Epithermal Neutron and Prompt Gamma Activation Analysis were used to determine the content of nine major (Na, Mg, Al, Si, K, Ca, Ti, Mn, and Fe as oxides) and 32 trace elements (Cl, Sc, V, Cr, Co, Ni, Zn, As, Se, Br, Rb, Sr, Zr, Mo, Sn, Sb, Cs, Ba, La, Ce, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Yb, Hf, Ta, W, Th, and U) with a precision varying between 3 and 9%. The core contained unconsolidated sediment rich in coccolithic ooze and mud. Previous 210 Pb geochronology suggests an age of ∼1 ky of considered sediments. Major components distribution showed that, except for Cl and Ca, the contents of all other elements are similar to Upper Continental Crust (UCC) and North American Shale Composite (NASC). The distribution of the 32 trace elements showed similarities to the UCC, except for redox-sensitive metals Fe, Se, Mo, and U, of which the significantly higher content reflects the presence of euxinic conditions during deposition. A chondrite normalized plot of nine rare earth elements indicated a similarity to UCC and NASC, suggesting a continental origin of sedimentary material

Geochemical and Isotope Anomalies in Sioma River Gorge, Western Tajikistan

For a better understanding of the previously observed increased natural radioactivity at the confluence of the Varzob and Sioma rivers, Central Tajikistan, the activity concentration of natural radioactive 40K, Th and U daughters as well as of the anthropogenic 137Cs were determined in nine locations covering the entire Sioma River. The radiometric determinations evidenced, in addition to increased activity concentrations of Th and U daughter radionuclides, an anomalous accumulation of anthropic 137Cs and natural 210Pb in the middle of the Sioma gorge. Complementarily, the mass fractions of natural Th and U determined by instrumental neutron activation analysis evidenced an increased presence of Th and U, which, in some places, overpasses six-times the average mass fraction found in the upper continental crust. The possible influence of active air transport from the southern Tadjik plane during the Afghani storms, as well as the presence of actinide-rich minerals, were analyzed and discussed

Multi-Energy and Fast-Convergence Iterative Reconstruction Algorithm for Organic Material Identification Using X-ray Computed Tomography

In order to significantly reduce the computing time while, at the same time, keeping the accuracy and precision when determining the local values of the density and effective atomic number necessary for identifying various organic material, including explosives and narcotics, a specialized multi-stage procedure based on a multi-energy computed tomography investigation within the 20–160 keV domain was elaborated. It consisted of a compensation for beam hardening and other non-linear effects that affect the energy dependency of the linear attenuation coefficient (LAC) in the chosen energy domain, followed by a 3D fast reconstruction algorithm capable of reconstructing the local LAC values for 64 energy values from 19.8 to 158.4 keV, and, finally, the creation of a set of algorithms permitting the simultaneous determination of the density and effective atomic number of the investigated materials. This enabled determining both the density and effective atomic number of complex objects in approximately 24 s, with an accuracy and precision of less than 3%, which is a significantly better performance with respect to the reported literature values