To study the coupled thermo-hydrologic-geomechanical processes and their influence on gas and nuclide transport in a two phase flow through the porous medium, a coupling of the thermo-hydrodynamic code TOUGH2 and the thermo-mechanic code FLAC3D is described and applied to analyze three dimensional gas, heat and nuclide transport in a repository for disposal of heat generating nuclear waste in a...

In the driest parts of the Atacama Desert there are no visible life forms on soil or rock surfaces. The soil in this region contains only minute traces of bacteria distributed in patches, and conditions are too dry for cyanobacteria that live under translucent stones. Here we show that halite evaporite rocks from the driest part of the Atacama Desert are colonized by cyanobacteria. This coloniz...

In this study, the salt weathering effects on engineering properties and weight loss potential of three types of granitoid rocks were investigated. Sodium and magnesium sulfates tests were performed on core and aggregate samples. The cyclic salt weathering tests on core samples were done up to 90 cycles, while these tests on aggregate samples were done up to 40 cycles. The results showed that d...

Sadegh Hedayat is one of the most renowned contemporary writers whose various works are discussed by many literary critics. His short story "The Case of Chrystal (rock) Salt" is a humorous and satirical story is collected in Tittle-tattle alongside with five more short stories. The narrator of the story explains the history of human civilization and evolution based on his own perspective. “The ...

We elucidated the formation process for Ruddlesden-Popper-type defects during pulsed laser deposition of Sr rich SrTiO3 thin films by a combined analysis of in-situ atomic force microscopy, low energy electron diffraction and high resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy. At the early growth stage of 1.5 unit cells, the excess Sr results in the formation of SrO on the surface, resul...

Magnesiowüstite [(Mg,Fe)O] is the second most abundant mineral of Earth's lower mantle. Understanding its stability under lower mantle conditions is crucial for interpreting the physical and chemical properties of the whole Earth. Previous studies in an externally heated diamond anvil cell suggested that magnesiowüstites decompose into two components, Fe-rich and Mg-rich magnesiowüstites at 86 ...

[1] Despite the importance of hydromechanical effects in fault processes, not much is known about the interplay of chemical and mechanical processes, in part because the conditions are difficult to simulate in the laboratory. We report results from an experimental study of simulated fault gouge composed of rock salt sheared under conditions where pressure solution is known to operate. At slidin...

SnTe is a promising thermoelectric and topological insulator material. Here, the presumably simple rock salt crystal structure of SnTe is studied comprehensively by means of high-resolution synchrotron single-crystal and powder X-ray diffraction from 20 to 800 K. Two samples with different carrier concentrations (sample A = high, sample B = low) have remarkably different atomic displacement par...

the most enigmatic problems with the nearly 200 salt domes pierced in the persian gulf and in the zagros mountain ranges (zmr) in southern iran, a unique morphology in the world, have been the matter of this study, which is based on a combination of field work, enhancement of satellite and aerial photographs etc. in the zmr, structural anomalies are frequently associated with similar facies dis...