Detection and characterization of hydraulically active fractures in a carbonate aquifer: results from self-potential, temperature and fluid electrical conductivity logging in the Combioula hydrothermal system in the southwestern Swiss Alps

A geophysical and geochemical study has been conducted in a fractured carbonate aquifer located at Combioula in the southwestern Swiss Alps with the objective to detect and characterize hydraulically active fractures along a 260-m-deep borehole. Hydrochemical analyses, borehole diameter, temperature and fluid electrical conductivity logging data were integrated in order to relate electrokinetic self-potential signals to groundwater flow inside the fracture network. The results show a generally good, albeit locally variable correlation of variations of the self-potential signals with variations in temperature, fluid electrical conductivity and borehole diameter. Together with the hydrochemical evidence, which was found to be critical for the interpretation of the self-potential data, these measurements not only made it possible to detect the hydraulically active fractures but also to characterize them as zones of fluid gain or fluid loss. The results complement the available information from the corresponding litholog and illustrate the potential of electrokinetic self-potential signals in conjunction with temperature, fluid electrical conductivity and hydrochemical analyses for the characterization of fractured aquifers, and thus may offer a perspective for an effective quantitative characterization of this increasingly important class of aquifers and geothermal reservoir

Thermal stability of in-grown vacancy defects in GaN grown by hydride vapor phase epitaxy

We have used positron annihilation spectroscopy to study the thermal behavior of different native vacancy defects typical of freestanding GaN grown by hydride vapor phase epitaxy under high pressure annealing at different annealing temperatures. The results show that the VGa‐ON pairs dissociate and the Ga vacancies anneal out from the bulk of the material at temperatures 1500–1700K. A binding energy of Eb=1.6(4)eV can be determined for the pair. Thermal formation of Ga vacancies is observed at the annealing temperatures above 1700K, indicating that Ga vacancies are created thermally at the high growth temperature, but their ability to form complexes such as VGa‐ON determines the fraction of vacancy defects surviving the cooling down. The formation energy of the isolated Ga vacancy is experimentally determined.Peer reviewe

Enhancement of piezoelectricity in a mixed ferroelectric

We use first-principles density-functional total energy and polarization calculations to calculate the piezoelectric tensor at zero temperature for both cubic and simple tetragonal ordered supercells of Pb_3GeTe_4. The largest piezoelectric coefficient for the tetragonal configuration is enhanced by a factor of about three with respect to that of the cubic configuration. This can be attributed to both the larger strain-induced motion of cations relative to anions and higher Born effective charges in the tetragonal case. A normal mode decomposition shows that both cation ordering and local relaxation weaken the ferroelectric instability, enhancing piezoelectricity.Comment: 5 pages, revtex, 2 eps figure

Temperature-dependence of exciton radiative recombination in (Al,Ga)N/GaN quantum wells grown on a-plane GaN substrates

This article presents the dynamics of excitons in a-plane (Al,Ga)N/GaN single quantum wells of various thicknesses grown on bulk GaN substrates. For all quantum well samples, recombination is observed to be predominantly radiative in the low-temperature range. At higher temperatures, the escape of charge carriers from the quantum well to the (Al,Ga)N barriers is accompanied by a reduction in internal quantum efficiency. Based on the temperature-dependence of time-resolved photoluminescence experiments, we also show how the local disorder affects the exciton radiative lifetime at low temperature and the exciton non-radiative lifetime at high temperature.We acknowledge financial support from the Swiss National Science Foundation through Project No. 129715 and from the Polish National Science Center (Project DEC-2011/ 03/B/ST3/02647). The work was partially supported by the European Union within European Regional Development Fund through Innovative Economy Grant No. POIG.01.01.02-00-008/08. P.C. also acknowledges financing from the European Union Seventh Framework Program under grant agreement No. 265073

Magnetic and hyperfine interaction in RFe4Al8 (R = Ce,Sc) compounds

Magnetic properties of ScFe4Al8 and CeFe4Al8 compounds have been studied by magnetization and Mössbauer effect measurements. Magnetic transition temperatures estimated from Mössbauer spectra (B = 0) 170 K for CeFe4Al8 and 225 K for ScFe4Al8 are not confirmed by magnetization measurements. Contrary, the pronounced maxima at Tmax = 130 and 125 K in DC magnetization curves (B = 1 kOe) were found for ScFe4Al8 and CeFe4Al8, respectively. Thermomagnetic, the so-called zero field (ZFC) and field cooling (FC) experiments show temperature-dependent irreversibilities below the "freezing" temperature, Tf, which diminishes with application of external magnetic field. The Mössbauer studies show the coexistence of magnetically (sextet) and non-magnetically (quadrupole doublet) split patterns in the wide temperature range far away from Tmax. All these observations indicate that the systems studied are either a spin-glass or are the mixture of AF and spin-glass state. © 2001 Elsevier Science B.V

Magnetic properties and Moessbauer effect studies of Ce1-xScxFe4Al8 system

The investigations of the magnetic and electrical properties as well as the 57Fe Moessbauer effect are presented for Ce1-xScxFe4Al8 solid solution with 0<x<1 in the temperature range 4-300 K. Magnetic susceptibility follows a Curie-Weiss law above 200 K. The effective magnetic moment decreases with the Sc content. At temperatures lower than 130 K all compounds studied are antiferromagnets. The Neel temperature, TN is not affected by substitution of Sc for Ce. TN has no reflection in any anomaly in ρ(T). The Moessbauer spectra at temperatures lower than TN exhibit one Zeeman sextet related to the Fe nucleus at the 8(f) position. The hyperfine parameters Hhf, IS, QS have been estimated as a function of Sc concentration. The increasing of Sc content diminishes Hhf on the Fe nucleus. The calculations of electron-density distribution along the 〈1 1 1〉 direction in elemental crystallographic cell indicate a remarkable increase of electron charge at the Fe sites with the Sc content increasing. The 40-49° cone angles of the Fe sublattices at 12 K have been estimated from Moessbauer spectra analysis

The influence of dissolved oxygen on winter habitat selection by largemouth bass: an integration of field biotelemetry studies and laboratory experiments

In this study, field biotelemetry and laboratory physiology approaches were coupled to allow understanding of the behavioral and physiological responses of fish to winter hypoxia. The biotelemetry study compared dissolved oxygen levels measured throughout the winter period with continually tracked locations of nine adult largemouth bass obtained from a whole‐lake submerged telemetry array. Fish habitat usage was compared with habitat availability to assess whether fish were selecting for specific dissolved oxygen concentrations. The laboratory study examined behavioral and physiological responses to progressive hypoxia in juvenile largemouth bass acclimated to winter temperatures. Results from the dissolved oxygen measurements made during the biotelemetry study showed high variance in under‐ice dissolved oxygen levels. Avoidance of water with dissolved oxygen less than 2.0 mg/L by telemetered fish was demonstrated, but significant use of water with intermediate dissolved oxygen levels was also found. Results from the lab experiments showed marked changes in behavior (i.e., yawning and vertical movement) at less than 2.0 mg/L of dissolved oxygen but no change in tissue lactate, an indicator of anaerobic metabolism. Combined results of the biotelemetry and laboratory studies demonstrate that a dissolved oxygen content of 2.0 mg/L may be a critical threshold that induces behavioral responses by largemouth bass during the winter. In addition, the use by fish of areas with intermediate levels of dissolved oxygen suggests that there are multiple environmental factors influencing winter behavior."This project was supported by LotekWireless, and funding was provided by Queen’s University, the Illinois Natural History Survey, Canada Foundation for Innovation, Carleton University, and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council.