Viscosity and light-transmission measurements of dilute suspensions of montmorillonites having different exchangeable cations were used to calculate relative particle sizes as a function of cation composition, where particle size is expressed as the number of clay plates per tactoid relative to the number of plates per tactoid for Li-montmorillonite, after exchange of Li, Na, K, Cs, and Mg by Ca. Tactoid sizes increased in the order Li < Na < K < Mg < Ca, with the number of plates per tactoid relative to Li-montmorillonite varying from 1.5 for Na- to 6.1 for Ca-montmorillonite. The results for tactoid sizes derived from light transmission and those derived from viscosity data are in reasonable agreement with each other and with literature data for similar systems. Upon exchange of Ca-counterions for Li-, Na-, or K-coun-terions, a sharp initial decrease in tactoid size was observed over approximately the first 30% of cation exchange. Upon further exchange, tactoid sizes changed only slightly, but when Ca was exchanged for Cs or Mg, a much more gradual decrease in particle size was observed.

This study investigates and proposes a fire detection and suppression system for a smart air cargo container. A series of smoke spread and fire evolution numerical models are executed to assess the performance of container-based fire detection in various fire scenarios. This is to identify the worst case and optimise the location and threshold setting of fire detection sensors, achieving the shortest detection time. It is found that the fire detection threshold (reduction in light transmission = 12%/ft) for a container-based system can be set at three times the standard activation threshold for a cargo-based fire detection system, which can reduce the number of false alarms by three orders of magnitude. Moreover, effectiveness analysis of passive fire protection for the glass fibre-reinforced polymer-made smart container indicates an allowable leakage size of 0.01m2. The risk of internal overpressure has been found to be negligible for the leakage size required by aircraft pressure equalisation.

The Mojave Desert has been long considered a suitable terrestrial analogue to Mars in many geological and astrobiological aspects. The Silver Lake region in the Mojave Desert hosts several different rock types (talc, marble, quartz, white carbonate and red-coated carbonate) colonized by hypoliths within a few kilometres. This provides an opportunity to investigate the effect of rock type on hypolithic colonization in a given environment. Transmission measurements from 300 to 800 nm showed that the transmission of blue and UVA varied between rock types. The wavelength at which the transmission fell to 1% of the transmission at 600 nm was 475 nm for white carbonate and quartz, 425 nm for red-coated carbonate and talc and 380 nm for marble. The comparative analysis of the cyanobacterial component of hypoliths under different rocks, as revealed by sequencing 16S rRNA gene clone libraries, showed no significant variation with rock type; hypoliths were dominated by phylotypes of the genus Chroococcidiopsis, although less abundant phylotypes of the genus Loriellopsis, Leptolyngbya and Scytonema occurred. The comparison of the confocal laser scanning microscopy-λ (CLSM-λ) scan analysis of the spectral emission of the photosynthetic pigments of Chroococcidiopsis in different rocks with the spectrum of isolated Chroococcidiopsis sp. 029, revealed a 10 nm red shift in the emission fingerprinting for quartz and carbonate and a 5 nm red shift for talc samples. This result reflects the versatility of Chroococcidiopsis in inhabiting dry niches with different light availability for photosynthesis.

On Earth, surface detritus has a quartz-rich mineralogy as a consequence of plate tectonics. Rocky planets without plate tectonics, like Mars, have surface detritus derived from volcanic rocks. There is a marked contrast in the transmission of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) through the upper few millimetres of the two sediment types. Quartz-rich sediment allows PAR to penetrate below the level where ultraviolet (UV) radiation is cut out, so represents a potential refuge for phototrophs at an early stage of evolution before chemical defences against UV radiation are developed. Opaque volcanogenic sediment does not allow significant transmission of radiation beneath the surface. There are consequences for the expression of biosignatures from phototrophs. In the case of direct examination as proposed for Mars, techniques such as Raman spectroscopy will be applicable only to surfaces rather than penetratively into the subsurface. When spectroscopic techniques can be applied to extrasolar planets, the chance of a vegetation signature will be enhanced if the early evolution of phototrophs has been facilitated by a subsurface refuge.

The transmission of light through a hole was thought to be very weak when all of the lateral dimensions of the hole were much smaller than the wavelength of the light.The discovery of enhanced transmission has changed this view, raising fundamental questions and leading to many practical applications ranging from photonics to chemical sensing. A key feature of the transmission process is the activation of surface plasmons. In this article, we review the present understanding of this phenomenon and illustrate its potential through several examples of applications in different fields.

L'étang du Vaccarès est isolé des influences naturelles de la mer et du Rhône depuis la construction de digues au siècle dernier. Depuis 1950, des modifications de la salinité liées aux conditions climatiques et aux activités humaines ont entraîné des changements remarquables de sa végétation aquatique. Les transformations des herbiers ont pu être cartographiées grâce à des relevés effectués en 1963-64, 1974 et 1984. L'évolution saisonnière da la salinité, la bathymétrie, la nature du substrat et les qualités optiques de l'eau permettent d'interpréter les modifications de la végétation.Pendant la phase de dessalement, la végétation à Potamogeton pectinatus et Ruppia maritima évolue vers une végétation dulçaquicole à Myriophyllym spicatum et Phragmites communis. A partir de 1980, l'augmentation de la salinité a permis l'installation d'un herbier monospécifique à Zostera noltii.Par leur action sur la dispersion et la floculation des sédiments, les variations de salinité, ajoutées à l'action des vents fréquents en Camargue, influent sur la transparence de l'eau et la transmission de la lumière dans l'eau. Une meilleure transmission de la lumière serait une explication de la plus grande extension des herbiers pendant la phase de resalement du Vaccarès.L'avenir de cette végétation reste entièrement liée à la salinité dont les variations dépendent des conditions climatiques et des activités humaines.