Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) is a worldwide recognized method for radiocarbon (14C) dating. The advantageous aspects of this method include the variety of materials and the small sample size (1 mg of carbon) that can be measured. However, these pose several challenges in the laboratory, such as developing appropriate chemical pretreatment methods. In the summer of 2022, the Radiocarbon and Mass Spectrometry Laboratory in Gliwice, Poland, launched the MICADAS accelerator spectrometer. The report on background and reference materials measurement results for the period from September 2022 to July 2024 is presented in this publication. Quality assurance and quality control processes are extremely important to guarantee the high quality of the results obtained in the laboratory. Hence, our Radiocarbon and Mass Spectrometry Laboratory in Gliwice took part in the Glasgow International Radiocarbon Inter-Comparison (GIRI) program. The radiocarbon ages for wood, bone, humic acid, and barley mash samples were determined and compared with reported values. The resulting data confirmed that our Laboratory is capable of dating samples across a spectrum of materials and ages ranging from contemporary to the limits of the radiocarbon method, achieving precision on par with that of other laboratories.

Supraglacial channels play a crucial role in transporting meltwater across ice sheets and ice shelves. Despite their importance, recent research has tended to focus on the storage of supraglacial meltwater (e.g. in lakes), and our understanding of the distribution and connectivity of channels is more limited, particularly in Antarctica. Here we investigate large (>30 m wide) supraglacial channels on five contrasting ice shelves in Antarctica during the melt seasons of 2020 and 2022. Supraglacial channels are mapped by applying an automated delineation method to Landsat-8 satellite imagery, and various metrics are calculated to quantify and describe their fluvial morphometry. Results show that supraglacial channels are extensive on all five ice shelves, forming a total of 119 channel networks that exhibit relatively simple structures that do not exceed fourth-order Strahler ordering and which mostly occur on low ice surface slopes (<0.001) and at low elevations where ice is slow-flowing (<150 m a−1). The orientation of channels broadly coincides with the ice flow direction and is clearly influenced by surface structures (e.g. longitudinal flow-stripes), which appear to exert a strong control on both channel formation and their morphological properties.

Ferroinnelite, Ba4Ti2Na(NaFe2+)Ti(Si2O7)2[(SO4)(PO4)]O2[O(OH)], is a new mineral from the Phlogopite deposit, Kovdor alkaline massif, Kola Peninsula, Russia. In an agpaitic pegmatite, ferroinnelite occurs as transparent elongated platy to tabular crystals up to 0.15 mm long. Associated minerals are cancrinite, orthoclase, aegirine–augite, magnesio-arfvedsonite, golyshevite and fluorapatite. The mineral is yellow to yellow brown with a vitreous lustre and a white streak, Dcalc. is 4.088 g/cm3. Ferroinnelite is triclinic, space group P$\bar 1$, a = 5.3994(8), b = 7.09239(13), c = 14.7345(4) Å, α = 98.4086(19), β = 94.3275(18), γ = 90.0133(13)°, V = 556.56(8) Å3. The chemical composition of ferroinnelite is SO3 5.47, Nb2O5 0.45, P2O5 4.59, ZrO2 0.13, TiO2 16.91, SiO2 17.55, Al2O3 0.06, BaO 42.83, SrO 1.01, FeO 3.34, MnO 0.97, CaO 0.09, MgO 0.64, K2O 0.01, Na2O 4.47, H2O 1.11, F 0.15, O = F –0.06, total 99.72 wt.%, with H2O calculated from structure refinement. The empirical formula calculated on 26 (O + F) apfu is (Na1.95Fe2+0.64Mg0.21Mn2+0.19Ca0.02)Σ3.01(Ba3.84Sr0.13Na0.03)Σ4.00(Ti2.91Nb0.05Al0.02Zr0.01Mg0.01)Σ3.00Si4.02S0.94P0.89H1.70O25.89F0.11, Z = 1. The crystal structure was refined to an R1 index of 7.45% from 4485 unique reflections (Fo > 4σF). The structure is a combination of a TS (Titanium Silicate) and an I (intermediate) blocks. The TS block consists of HOH sheets (H – heteropolyhedral and O – octahedral). The O sheet is composed of Ti-, Na- and (Na,Fe2+)-octahedra, the H sheet, of [5]Ti-polyhedra and Si2O7 groups. The I block contains T sites, statistically occupied by S and P, and Ba atoms. Ideal compositions of the TS and I blocks are {Ti2Na(NaFe2+)Ti(Si2O7)2O2[O(OH)]}3– and {Ba4[(SO4)(PO4)]}3+. Ferroinnelite is a new member of the lamprophyllite group of the seidozerite supergroup. It is isostructural with innelite-1A, Ba4Ti2Na(NaMn2+)Ti(Si2O7)2[(SO4)(PO4)]O2[O(OH)]. Ferroinnelite and innelite are related by the following cation substitution at the MO3 site in the O sheet: Fe2+fer ↔ Mn2+inn. IR and Raman spectroscopies confirm presence of OH and H2O groups in ferroinnelite and innelite.

The new mineral steiningerite, ideally Ba2Zr2(Si4O12)O2, was discovered along fissures and in cavities in melilite nephelinite samples retrieved from the currently active Löhley quarry, Eifel Volcanic Fields, Germany. Steiningerite is associated with minerals of the pyroxene group (augite–diopside), leucite, perovskite, titanite and accessory fluorapatite, fresnoite, wöhlerite, götzenite, fersmanite, magnetite and minerals of the pyrochlore group. It usually forms colourless or creamy white, euhedral, short prismatic to thick tabular, partly pseudocubic crystals up to 100 μm in size but also occurs rarely as individuals reaching 0.5 mm in size. The mineral is transparent to translucent, exhibits a vitreous lustre and no visible cleavage. The calculated density of steiningerite is 3.78 g/cm3. Optically, steiningerite is non-pleochroic and uniaxial (+), with ω = 1.711(3) and ε = 1.750(3) (λ = 589 nm). The empirical formula of holotype steiningerite, calculated on 14 anions, is (Ba1.36K0.56Na0.09Sr0.05Ca0.02)Σ2.08(Zr1.52Ti0.25Nb0.13U0.05Fe0.02Hf0.01)Σ1.98(Si4.00Al0.03)Σ4.03O12(O1.59F0.41)Σ2.00. Steiningerite crystallises in space group P4/mbm, with refined unit-cell parameters a = 8.894(2) Å, c = 8.051(2) Å, V = 636.9(3) Å3 and Z = 2. The crystal structure, determined from single-crystal intensity data, was refined to R = 0.0310 for 444 unique reflections with I > 3σ(I). The mineral is isotypic with the synthetic KTaSi2O7 and structurally similar to the mineral rippite, K2(Nb,Ti)2(Si4O12)(O,F)2. The hetero-polyhedral framework is formed by the chains of (Zr,Ti)O6 octahedra, running parallel to the four-fold axis, which are combined via Si4O12 rings. Each (Zr,Ti)O6 octahedron shares four vertices with four SiO4 tetrahedra, belonging to four different Si4O12 units. This arrangement of atoms creates channels along the c axis, with a pentagonal cross-section, in which charge-balancing Ba2+ and K+ ions are located. Extra-framework alkaline and alkaline-earth cations have twelve-fold coordination. The occurrence of the new mineral in a melilite nephelinite, along with its high-temperature mineral association and the absence of H2O and OH groups, confirmed by Raman and FTIR spectroscopies, indicate high-temperature conditions of formation and suggests a pneumatolytic origin of steiningerite.

Palygorskite (Pal) shows great potential for physical, chemical and biological uses due to its colloidal, catalytic and adsorption properties. Pal mines, however, are facing the challenge of low-grade materials (5–15%), making it difficult to use Pal in emerging fields such as new materials, environmental protection and health. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop an efficient method for separating and purifying Pal to obtain high purity levels. Hence, we have developed a dispersant-assisted rotating liquid film reactor separation strategy based on sodium hexametaphosphate as the dispersant. This strategy utilizes the double electron layer of Pal and the density difference between impurities to achieve effective disaggregation and purification of Pal bundles through the promotion of repulsive driving effects. Under optimal conditions, the purity of Pal can be increased from less than 10% to over 80%. This research presents a novel approach to the efficient refining of low-grade Pal. The crudely purified Pal’s adsorption capacity for methylene blue increased from 84.2 to 256.4 mg g–1.

In recent years, water pollution caused by industrial waste has been a major problem throughout the world. To remove harmful impurities from water, using methylene blue (MB) as a model compound, modified clays were used, as they are capable of adsorbing various substances on their surfaces. The modified clays were obtained by grafting dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and triethanolamine (TEOA) in the space between the layers of Shymkent clay. DMSO was first added to the natural clay; TEOA was also added at a temperature of 180°C and then held at that temperature for 2 h. The resulting modified clays were dried at 60°C for 24 h and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), surface area analysis (SAA), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), elemental analysis, and thermogravimetric analysis (DTA and TGA). Natural and modified clays (0.25–2.5 g L–1, pH=1–12, and 50°C) were used to adsorb MB from an aqueous solution at a concentration of 50 mg L–1. Contact with the adsorbent was maintained for 8 h. As much as 95.9% of the MB was removed from the aqueous solution in as little time as 15 min. Adsorption conditions were optimized, and the clay modified with TEAO showed better results than the natural clay (85% for modified clay vs 40% for original clay, at a clay concentration of 0.5 g L–1); significant adsorption was obtained over a wide pH range (>85% from pH 1 to 12).

In this paper we present new AMS radiocarbon dates from the Bronze Age cemetery of Tiszafüred-Majoroshalom excavated between 1961 and 1972. The cemetery provides crucial information on the cultural development and chronology of the Bronze Age Otomani-Füzesabony and the Tumulus cultures of Eastern Central Europe, in addition to the transition between the Middle and Late Bronze Age (approx. 1500 BC) in the Great Hungarian Plain.

Marsaalamite-(Y), ideally Y(MoO4)OH, is a new molybdate mineral discovered in the greisenised Um Safi F-rich granite located in the Marsa Alam District, Central Eastern Desert, Egypt. It typically occurs as inclusions in or intergrowths with F-rich zinnwaldite. It forms micaceous aggregates, with sizes varying from 0.1 to 1 mm. Marsaalamite-(Y) is non-magnetic, white in colour, and has an earthy lustre and white streak. It is brittle (3–4 Mohs) and has basal cleavages {010}. The calculated density is 4.90 g.cm–3 based on the empirical formula and unit-cell parameters refined from powder X-ray diffraction data. Marsaalamite-(Y) is associated with arsenopyrite, baryte, bastnäsite-(Ce), cassiterite, chernovite-(Y), columbite-(Fe), fluocerite-(Ce), fluorite, iron oxy-hydroxides, löllingite, molybdenite, monazite-(Ce), pyrite, quartz, rutile, thorite, wolframite, wulfenite, xenotime-(Y) and several unidentified phases. The empirical formula is (Y0.67Er0.10Dy0.08Yb0.08Ho0.02Lu0.02Tm0.02Ca0.01)Σ1.00(Mo0.95S0.03As0.01P0.01)Σ1.00O4.00[(OH)0.88F0.11Cl0.01]Σ1.00; the ideal end-member formula is Y(MoO4)(OH). The presence of a hydroxyl group has been confirmed by Raman and infrared spectroscopy, and its concentration has been calculated from the stoichiometry. Marsaalamite-(Y) is the natural (OH)-dominant analogue of synthetic Y(MoO4)F. It is monoclinic, space group P21/c, with unit-cell parameters a = 5.1863(7) Å, b = 12.3203(11) Å, c = 6.6953(7) Å, β = 114.173(8)°, V = 390.30(8) Å3, and Z = 4. Extreme fractionation of the parental halogen-rich, A-type granitic magma triggered the greisenisation of the granite. Marsaalamite-(Y) occurred simultaneously with or immediately after the crystallisation of F-rich zinnwaldite based on the textural relationship. Therefore, the crystallisation of marsaalamite-(Y) was most likely to have been controlled by fluid-induced processes rather than magmatic conditions. The new mineral has been approved by the Commission on New Minerals, Nomenclature and Classification of the International Mineralogical Association (IMA 2024-050) and named after the Marsa Alam District, Al-Bahr Al-Ahmer Governorate, Egypt.

Neotype material of chukhrovite-(Ce), ideally (Ca3Ce)[AlF6]2(SO4)F·12H2O, was established on the basis of a new occurrence from the Tripi mine, Alì, Peloritani Mountains, Sicily, Italy. In fact the Russian specimens originally considered as type material of this species were later found to correspond to Ce-rich chukhrovite-(Y). At the Tripi mine, chukhrovite-(Ce) occurs as white cube-octahedral crystals, up to 0.05 mm in size, associated with creedite, quartz and fluorite. Electron microprobe analysis gave (in wt.%, normalised to sum = 100.00): SO3 8.40, P2O5 0.16, ZrO2 0.12, Al2O3 11.95, Y2O3 0.48, La2O3 3.64, Ce2O3 7.63, Pr2O3 1.00, Nd2O3 3.23, Sm2O3 0.97, Eu2O3 0.13, Gd2O3 0.97, Dy2O3 0.21, CaO 20.47, F 22.09, Cl 0.07, O = (F, Cl) –9.31, H2Ocalc 27.80. On the basis of 29 anions per formula unit, assuming the presence of 13 (F+Cl+OH) atoms and 12 H2O groups, the empirical formula of chukhrovite-(Ce) from the Tripi mine is Ca3.17(Ce0.40La0.19Nd0.17Pr0.05Sm0.05Gd0.05Y0.04Eu0.01Dy0.01)Σ0.97Zr0.01Al2.04(S0.91P0.02)Σ0.93O4[F10.10Cl0.02(OH)2.88]Σ13.00·12H2O. The occurrence of H2O groups was supported by micro-Raman spectroscopy. Chukhrovite-(Ce) is cubic, Fd$\bar 3$, with a = 16.7608(5) Å, V = 4708.5(4) Å3 and Z = 8. Its crystal structure was refined to R1 = 0.0378 for 604 unique reflections with Fo > 4σ(Fo) and 36 least-square parameters. Chukhrovite-(Ce) belongs to the chukhrovite group and it is isotypic with chukhrovite-(Y), whereas it is homeotypic with chukhrovite-(Ca).

Oysters have unique life history strategies among molluscs and a long history in the fossil record. The Ostreid form, particularly species from the genus Crassostrea, facilitated the invasion into intertidal, estuarine habitats and reef formation. While there is general acknowledgement that oysters have highly variable growth, few studies have quantified variability in oyster allometry. This project aimed to (1) describe the proportional carbonate contributions from each valve and (2) examine length–weight relationships for shell and tissue across an estuarine gradient. We collected 1122 C. virginica from 48 reefs in eight tributaries and the main stem of the Virginia portion of the Chesapeake Bay. On average, the left valve was responsible for 56% of the total weight of the shell, which was relatively consistent across a size range (24.9–172 mm). Nonlinear mixed-effects models for oyster length–weight relationships suggest oysters exhibit allometric growth (b < 3) and substantial inter-reef variation, where upriver reefs in some tributaries appear to produce less shell and tissue biomass on average for a given size. We posit this variability may be due to differences in local conditions, particularly salinity, turbidity, and reef density. Allometric growth maximizes shell production and surface area for oyster settlement, both of which contribute to maintaining the underlying reef structure. Rapid growth and intraspecific plasticity in shell morphology enabled oysters to invade and establish reefs as estuaries moved in concert with changes in sea level over evolutionary time.