Rise and decline of ancient salt industry revealed by Na and Ca concentrations in sediments at Zhongba site, Chongqing

Based on dynastic period division and AMS ^14 C dating performed on the sedimentary layers at Zhongba and Yuxi sites,and also the analysis of Na,Ca and Mg of 201 sedimentary samples from Zhongba site and that of Ca and Na in 47 sedimentary samples from Yuxi by using an inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry（ICP）,we found that there were 35 time periods when the contents of Ca and Na were reversely correlated,i.e.whenever the content of Ca was the highest,the content of Na was the lowest,and vice versa. Among them,there were 21 time periods when the content of Ca was the highest,and Na was the lowest,indicating that there were about 21 prosperous periods of ancient salt production at Zhongba site since 3000BC.Other 14 time periods with the peak values of Na while the low values of Ca indicate 14 declined periods of salt production at Zhongba site since 3000BC.The conclusion obtained from the reverse relationship between Ca and Na contents in this paper is consistent with that＂the salt production at Zhongba site started in the new stone age,developed in the Xia and Shang dynasties,reached at the heyday in periods from the Western Zhou to the Han Dynasties,maintained stable to develop in the Tang and the Song dynasties,and gradually declined after the Song Dynasty because the sea salt were conveyed into Sichuan region,however,still had production in the 1970s-1980s＂,educed from archeological exploration.All the above mentioned results indicate that there is a reverse relationship obviously between the contents of Na and Ca in sediments at Zhongba site for ancient salt production,which can be used to reveal the process of rise and decline of ancient salt industry at Zhongba site.

CO-DEPOSITION OF Li(Ⅰ)WITH RE(Ⅲ)AND ITS APPLICATION IN THE PRODUCTION OF Al-Li-Cu-RE ALLOY BY MOLTEN SALT ELECTROLYSIS

The possibility of co-deposition of Li(Ⅰ)and RE(Ⅲ)has been estimated by both theoretical analysis and experimental study on the influences of temperature and concen- tration of chloride on the deposition potential.Both the electrochemical and electrolytic results clearly show that Li(Ⅰ)and RE(Ⅲ)can co-deposit on the Al-Cu electrode under selected conditions.

Tsakhalho:Salt Production and the Preservation of a Church

Tsakhalho lies in Markham County, Chamdo Prefecture of the Tibetan Au-tonomous Region(TAR).Geo-graphically it looks quite mysteri-ous and it has a unique culture. Formally,it is referred to as"Tsakhalho Jangba(Naxi)ethnic Town of Markham".It is located in the southeast of TAR,between the east bank of Lancang River and Dechen County.At an elevation of about 2,400 meters,the town is adjacent to Paltang of Sichuan Prov-ince

Formation and Transportation of High-Salinity Water Produced in Polynyas South of the St.Lawrence Island

The authors studied variations of temperature and salinity in seawater under sea ice using hydrologic data collected from polynyas south of the St.Lawrence Island during March of 2008 and 2009.The results indicate that the high-salinity water found during the cruises of 2008 and 2009 was due to the formation of polynyas.The salinity observed in 2008 was higher than that in 2009 as a result of higher salt production in 2008.The spatial distributions of high-salinity cores differed between the two cruises.In March 2008, a southeastward flow was formed under the persistent northerly wind in the observation region, which transported the high-salinity water produced by the polynyas to the southeast.The similar flow, however, did not exist in March 2009 because the northerly wind over the study area was interrupted by a southerly wind.Accordingly, the polynyas and the high-salinity water pro-duced by them existed for a short time.As a result, the high-salinity water in 2009 did not spread very far, and stayed within the polynyas.In addition, during the 2009 cruise, two stages of observations in the polynyas showed the core of high-salinity water was shifted to the southwest of the St.Lawrence Island.This result suggested that a southwestward flow might have existed in the area at the onset of the northerly wind, which was consistent with the alongshore and/or offshore flows caused by the northerly wind.