The effect of the physical activation on the dissolution of serpentine was investigated and a pH swing scheme was developed to improve the overall conversion of the CO2 mineral sequestration process. Various methods of the surface agitation such as ultrasound, acoustic, and internal (in-situ) grinding were examined for their effectiveness in removing the diffusion limiting SiO2 layer in order t...

Tectonically exposed mantle peridotite in the Oman Ophiolite is variably serpentinized and carbonated. Networks of young carbonate veins are prevalent in highly serpentinized peridotite, particularly near low-temperature alkaline springs emanating from the peridotite. An unusual feature in some samples is the coexistence of serpentine and quartz, which is not commonly observed in serpentinites....

The traditional view of the species as the fundamental unit of evolution has been challenged by observations that in heterogeneous environments, gene flow may be too restricted to overcome the effects of local selection. Whether a species evolves as a cohesive unit depends critically on the dynamic balance between homogenizing gene flow among populations and potentially disruptive local adaptat...

Plant specialization on soils derived from unusual parent materials is an important contributor to regional biodiversity. These stressful substrates include serpentine, gabbro, and other ultramafic rocks rich in heavy metals. The effect of substrate on plant diversity is illustrated by serpentine soils in California: they comprise less than 1% of the surface of the state (1), but serpentine end...

In order to further improve the economies of scale which are inherent in ECD’s continuous roil-to-roll amorphous silicon alloy solar cell manufacturing process, we have developed a concept for a serpentine web plasma CVD deposition process to maximize throughput while keeping the size of the deposition chambers small. When this technique is incorporated into a continuous rollto-roll PV manufact...

...........................................................................................................................................2 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................3 The genetic basis of convergent evolution Approaches to the study of parallel evolution Serpentine soil as ...

Serpentine robots o er advantages over traditional mobile robots and robot arms because they have enhanced exibility and reachability, especially in convoluted environments. These robots are well suited to inspect large space-fairing truss structures such as the future space station and can also be used to inspect the Space Shuttle cargo bay before launch. Serpentine mechanisms o er unique capa...

Asbestos is the generic commercial designation for a group of naturally occurring mineral silicate fibres of the serpentine and amphibole series. These include the serpentine mineral chrysotile (also known as ‘white asbestos’), and the five amphibole minerals – actinolite, amosite (also known as ‘brown asbestos’), anthophyllite, crocidolite (also known as ‘blue asbestos’), and tremolite (IARC, ...

Robots that mimic the natural motions of animals have long been of interest in science and engineering. The primary engineering interest in such robots is in having them conduct tasks that require complicated locomotion and cognition. Designating an outdoor mobile robot is more challenging work than the indoor mobile robot because it has the capability of operation at all weather condition and ...

Natural habitats vary in the degree to which they are invaded by exotic species, but it is unclear whether they differ in the mechanisms underlying the spatial spread of a given exotic species. To compare the dynamics of invasion in highly invaded nonserpentine oak woodlands and less-invaded serpentine habitats, we used an historical ‘‘experiment’’ consisting of the introduction of several nonn...