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Abstract: Iceland is a highly active source of natural dust. Icelandic dust has the potential to directly affect the climate via dust–radiation interaction and indirectly via dust–cloud interaction, the snow/ice albedo effect and impacts on biogeochemical cycles. The impacts of Icelandic dust depend on its mineralogical and chemical composition. However, a lack of data has prevented an accurate assessment of the role of Icelandic dust in the Earth system. Here, we collected surface sediment samples from five major Icelandic dust hotspots. Dust aerosols were generated and suspended in atmospheric chambers, and PM10 and PM20 fractions were collected for further analysis. We found that the dust samples primarily consist of amorphous basaltic materials ranging from 8 wt % (from the Hagavatn hotspot) to 60 wt %–90 wt % (other hotspots). Samples had relatively high total Fe content (10 wt %–13 wt %). Sequential extraction of Fe to determine its chemical form shows that dithionite Fe (Fe oxides such as hematite and goethite) and ascorbate Fe (amorphous Fe) contribute respectively 1 %–6 % and 0.3 %–1.4 % to the total Fe in Icelandic dust. The magnetite fraction is 7 %–15 % of total Fe and 1 %–2 wt % of PM10, which is orders of magnitude higher than in mineral dust from northern Africa. Nevertheless, about 80 %–90% of the Fe is contained in pyroxene and amorphous glass. The initial Fe solubility (ammonium acetate extraction at pH 4.7) is from 0.08 % to 0.6 %, which is comparable to low-latitude dust such as that from northern Africa. The Fe solubility at low pH (i.e. pH 2) is significantly higher than typical low-latitude dust (up to 30 % at pH 2 after 72 h). Our results revealed the fundamental differences in composition and mineralogy of Icelandic dust from low-latitude dust. We attribute these differences to the low degree of chemical weathering, the basaltic composition of the parent sediments and glacial processes. Icelandic dust contributes to the atmospheric deposition of soluble Fe and can impact primary productivity in the North Atlantic Ocean. The distinct chemical and mineralogical composition, particularly the high magnetite content (1 wt %–2 wt %), indicates a potentially significant impact of Icelandic dust on the radiation balance in the subpolar and polar regions.

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Abstract: The Fe–Mg exchange coefficient between olivine (ol) and melt (m), defined as KdFe𝑇−Mg Kd Fe T − Mg  = (Feol/Fem)·(Mgm/Mgol), with all FeT expressed as Fe2+, is one of the most widely used parameters in petrology. We explore the effect of redox conditions on KdFe𝑇−Mg Kd Fe T − Mg using experimental, olivine-saturated basaltic glasses with variable H2O (≤ 7 wt%) over a wide range of fO2 (iron-wüstite buffer to air), pressure (≤ 1.7 GPa), temperature (1025–1425 °C) and melt composition. The ratio of Fe3+ to total Fe (Fe3+/∑Fe), as determined by Fe K-edge µXANES and/or Synchrotron Mössbauer Source (SMS) spectroscopy, lies in the range 0–0.84. Measured Fe3+/∑Fe is consistent (± 0.05) with published algorithms and appears insensitive to dissolved H2O. Combining our new data with published experimental data having measured glass Fe3+/∑Fe, we show that for Fo65–98 olivine in equilibrium with basaltic and basaltic andesite melts, KdFe𝑇−Mg Kd Fe T − Mg decreases linearly with Fe3+/∑Fe with a slope and intercept of 0.3135 ± 0.0011. After accounting for non-ideal mixing of forsterite and fayalite in olivine, using a symmetrical regular solution model, the slope and intercept become 0.3642 ± 0.0011. This is the value at Fo50 olivine; at higher and lower Fo the value will be reduced by an amount related to olivine non-ideality. Our approach provides a straightforward means to determine Fe3+/∑Fe in olivine-bearing experimental melts, from which fO2 can be calculated. In contrast to KdFe𝑇−Mg Kd Fe T − Mg , the Mn–Mg exchange coefficient, KdMn−Mg Kd Mn − Mg , is relatively constant over a wide range of P–T–fO2 conditions. We present an expression for KdMn−Mg Kd Mn − Mg that incorporates the effects of temperature and olivine composition using the lattice strain model. By applying our experimentally-calibrated expressions for KdFe𝑇−Mg Kd Fe T − Mg and KdMn−Mg Kd Mn − Mg to olivine-hosted melt inclusions analysed by electron microprobe it is possible to correct simultaneously for post-entrapment crystallisation (or dissolution) and calculate melt Fe3+/∑Fe to a precision of ≤ 0.04.

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Abstract: A hitherto unknown composition is highlighted in the red and black inks preserved on ancient Egyptian papyri from the Roman period (circa 100 to 200 CE). Synchrotron-based macro–X-ray fluorescence (XRF) mapping brings to light the presence of iron (Fe) and lead (Pb) compounds in the majority of the red inks inscribed on 12 papyrus fragments from the Tebtunis temple library. The iron-based compounds in the inks can be assigned to ocher, notably due to the colocalization of Fe with aluminum, and the detection of hematite (Fe2O3) by micro–X-ray diffraction. Using the same techniques together with micro-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Pb is shown to be associated with fatty acid phosphate, sulfate, chloride, and carboxylate ions. Moreover, micro-XRF maps reveal a peculiar distribution and colocalization of Pb, phosphorus (P), and sulfur (S), which are present at the micrometric scale resembling diffused “coffee rings” surrounding the ocher particles imbedded in the red letters, and at the submicrometric scale concentrated in the papyrus cell walls. A similar Pb, P, and S composition was found in three black inks, suggesting that the same lead components were employed in the manufacture of carbon-based inks. Bearing in mind that pigments such as red lead (Pb3O4) and lead white (hydrocerussite [Pb3(CO3)2(OH)2] and/or cerussite [PbCO3]) were not detected, the results presented here suggest that the lead compound in the ink was used as a drier rather than as a pigment. Accordingly, the study calls for a reassessment of the composition of lead-based components in ancient Mediterranean pigments.

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Abstract: Fly ash represents a promising alternative source of rare earth elements (REE). However, information on REE containing mineral phases and their association with other fly ash components, vital for REE recovery from fly ash, is currently lacking. Herein, the mass fraction, distribution, crystallography and solid-state chemistry of REE, U and Th in Nigerian simulated fly ash samples were characterised using a range of laboratory and synchrotron x-ray based analytical techniques to underpin future extraction methodologies. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry following full-acid digest of forty-five samples revealed recoverable average total REE content which ranged between 442 mgkg−1and 625 mgkg−1, comprising over 30 wt% of the critical REE Nd, Eu, Tb, Dy, Y and Er. These REE within the fly ash samples were found to be most frequently associated with discrete monazite, xenotime and Y-bearing zircon mineral particles, with the former the most detected, which could be beneficiated through gravity separation. Analysis of monazite particles isolated from the composite samples through a complimentary suite of analytical synchrotron radiation techniques revealed a core-shell pattern, with the shell rich in colocalised Ce, Nd and La, and the core enrich in both U and Th. Ce in monazite was found to exist in a mixed trivalent and tetravalent oxidation state, with the monazite structure amorphized due to the high temperature combustion process. Such results demonstrate the strong co-association and physical distribution of REE, U and Th within monazite in fly ash; knowledge of which can subsequently be used to optimise or develop a more selective, cost-effective and environmentally friendly solvent extraction methodology, by targeting the strongly colocalised and surface bound REE in fly ash monazite particles.

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Abstract: The in-situ formation of lead-sulfur inorganic compounds in historical oil paintings can have a strong detrimental effect on an artwork’s physical and visual integrity. In this paper, paint micro-samples collected from several paintings from the Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam) and Mauritshuis (The Hague) collections were probed at the micro-scale using a combination of synchrotron micro-XRD and XRD-CT. This permitted to precisely identify the chemical nature of the in-situ formed crystalline compounds as well as to chart their distribution within paint layers at the microscopic level. This provided new information on the origin of the ions involved in the crystallization of the various newly formed mineral lead-sulfur products. The formation of palmierite K2Pb(SO4)2, anglesite PbSO4 and lanarkite Pb2(SO4)O in historical samples can thus be connected to paint stratigraphic build-up, environmental conditions and potential past restoration treatments.