Geothermal soils near Amphitheater Springs in Yellowstone National Park were characterized by high temperatures (up to 70 degrees C), high heavy metal content, low pH values (down to pH 2.7), sparse vegetation, and limited organic carbon. From these soils we cultured 16 fungal species. Two of these species were thermophilic, and six were thermotolerant. We cultured only three of these species f...

Branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (bGDGTs) are membrane-spanning lipids that likely stabilize membranes of some bacteria. Although bGDGTs have been reported previously in certain geothermal environments, it has been suggested that they may derive from surrounding soils since bGDGTs are known to be produced by soil bacteria. To test the hypothesis that bGDGTs can be produced by ther...

In this paper, inelastic pile-soil-structure interaction under static loading is presented by using finite element and boundary element methods. Linear beam column finite elements are used to model the piles and structural elements. Nonlinear soil is modeled by using nonlinear springs along the piles. Modified Özdemir’s nonlinear model is implemented for springs and systems of equations are cou...

the activity concentrations of 226ra, 232th, 40k and 137cs in water and sediment samples from hot springs of mahallat and  soil samples from their neighboring environs  have been determined using two high resolution high purity germanium (hpge) detectors with relative efficiencies 38.5% and 55%. the activity concentrations of 226ra, 232th, 40k and 137cs in sediment samples from hot spring donbe...

this paper presents the numerical analysis of seismic soil-pile-superstructure interaction in soft clay using free-field soil analysis and beam on winkler foundation approach. this model is developed to compute the nonlinear response of single piles under seismic loads, based on one-dimensional finite element formulation. the parameters of the proposed model are calibrated by fitting the experi...

This article presents an analysis of free vibration of elastically supported Timoshenko beams by using the spectral element method. The governing partial differential equation is elaborated to formulate the spectral stiffness matrix. Effectively, the non classical end boundary conditions of the beam are the primordial task to calibrate the phenomenon of the Timoshenko beam-soil foundation inter...

A hydrological semi-distributed model for simulating karst springs discharge is presented and applied to the Flims case study (Graubünden) and the Milandrine underground river (Jura). This model used for flood prediction and management in river basins has been adapted to karst flow and springs. The model takes into account snowmelt, glacier melt, soil infiltration, evapotranspiration as well as...

A new soil-tuber separation device on potato harvesters has been developed. It mainly comprises a linear motor, a rectangular screen, a frame, four supporting springs and four dampers. It is the first time to propose that the soil-tuber separation device is driven by the linear motor. Forces acting on the rectangular screen are found. A differential equation for describing the forces is set up....

Occurrence of Chromobacterium violaceum in six protected drinking water springs in Uganda was investigated. C. violaceum showed a contrasting occurrence, which was independent of human impact as assessed by faecal pollution indicators. It was isolated from two springs (S1 and S2) that were located close to each other (3 km) but not in the rest. In S1 C. violaceum was continuously detected, in c...