Salt storms

Today at the location of the former Aral Sea there are three remnant water bodies the Small Aral Sea, Western Large Aral Sea, and Eastern Large Aral Sea (see Fig. 2). In June 2009 the Western and Eastern Large Aral Sea were still coimected by a small, shallow, and narrow channel in the northern part of both basins (Fig. 3). The Aral Sea lost its economic importance, and the aftermath of its degradation represents a serious threat to the local population due to a lack of fresh water, water quality loss, salinization of soils, dust and salt storms, climate deterioration, various diseases, etc. 

A dry band along the north-eastern and eastern coast formed as a result of the Aral Sea desiccation is the source of salt, which together with dust are transported by wind over a distance up to 450-500 km from the source of generation and accelerate the process of desertification of the Aral region [6,32]. Such dust/salt storms have been observed on satellite images since the mid-1970s [33] (see, for example. Fig. 12). The predominant direction of the salt and dust transport (up to 60%) is southwestward [6] sometimes these dust/salt flows are traced almost to the eastern coast of the Caspian Sea (see Fig. 12). 

Fig. 12 Dust/salt storm over the Aral Sea MODIS/Aqua image for 29 April 2008, courtesy of NASA. Black lines show country borders between Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan...

Shallow-water embayments provide a mechanism to isolate seawater so that evaporation can raise salt ion concentrations. Arid climates are required to ensure that the rate of water loss from evaporation exceeds the rate of water supply by rainfell, groundwater seeps, or river runoff. Seawater can be resupplied continuously via a type of antiestuar-ine circulation as illustrated in Figure 17.2 or episodically as a result of sea level change, plate tectonics, or very high tides and storm surges. 

Often, sodium carbonate is used in place of caustic. When liquid soaps (at room temperature) are desired, the more soluble potassium soaps are made by substituting potassium hydroxide for the sodium hydroxide (lye). This process is relatively simple and high-purity raw materials are converted to soap with essentially no byproducts. Leaks, spills, storm runoff, and washouts are absent. There is only one wastewater of consequence the sewer lyes from reclaiming of scrap. The sewer lyes contain the excess caustic soda and salt added to grain out the soap. Also, they contain some dirt and paper not removed in the strainer. 

Bayless, E. R. Olyphant, G. A. 1993. Acidgenerating salts and their relationship to the chemistry of groundwater and storm runoff at an abandoned mine site in southwestern Indiana, USA. Journal of Contaminant Hydrology, 12, 313-328. 

Storm water runoff from cities and villages presents another problem. This runoff contains salts from road deicing, street refuse, animal waste, food litter, residue from atmospheric deposition of sulfuric and nitric acid, metals, asbestos from automobile brakes, rubber from tires, hydrocarbons from motor vehicle exhaust condensates, oil and grease, soil and inorganic nutrients from construction sites, and a variety of other chemicals. Research shows a heavy impact of urban nonpoint pollution on freshwater quality (World Resources Institute, 1988). 

The Badische AniKn- und Soda-Fabrik prepared a nitride of undetermined composition by heating a mixture of silica and carbon in an atm. of nitrogen. The reaction proceeds at a relatively low temp, if a hydroxide or salt of a metal be added. The product contains silicon nitride mixed with the nitride of the metal. The Badische Anilin- und Soda-Fabrik also removed many of the impurities—iron, carbon, silicates, carbides, silicides, and phosphides—by treatment with acids or mild oxidizing agents which do not affect the silicon nitride. A. S. Larsen and O. J. Storm prepared the nitride by the action of nitrogen on molten silicides—e.g. ferrosilicon. 

Aerosols, tiny pieces of liquids or solids suspended inside a gas, are both natural and human-made. Natural atmospheric aerosols come from erupting volcanoes, storms that stir up dirt, forest fires, pollinating plants, salt from sea spray, and more. Most of the aerosols in the atmosphere come from natural sources. 

Andreae, M.O., Charlson, R.J., Bruynseels, F., Storms, H., Van Grieken, R. and Maenhaut, W. (1986) Internal mixture of sea salt, silicates and excess sulfate in marine aerosols. Science, 232, 1620-1623. 

Church et al. (8), in presenting additional information derived from WATOX research, report on the ocean s influence on precipitation from storms that leave the North American continent and transit over the western Atlantic. They pay particular attention to this oceanic influence on the sulfur and nitrogen precursors of acid rains. They further report that, although sea salt contributes over half (by weight) of the salt in precipitation at the coast and over three quarters of the salt in precipitation at Bermuda, most sulfate (90% at the coast and 50% at Bermuda) is in excess of sea salt. 

Salts of nitric acid are often found in the water which falls at the beginning of a thunder-storm. Why ... 

Storm et al. [74] evaluated various trialkylamines as ion-pairing agents for the LC separation of aromatic sulfonates. Tributylamine was preferred. In time-scheduled SRM, 19 aromatic sulfonic acids could be determined with detection limits of 3-74 pg/1. Socher et al. [75] demonstrated the applicability of ion-exchange chromatography with an ammonium acetate salt gradient up to 500 mmol/1 in combination with negative-ion ESI as well as APCI LC-MS. 

Concentration.—The oldest, simplest and, combined with cooling, most used method of producing crystalline solids from solutions is by concentration of the solution. The oldest application is without doubt found in the evaporation of sea water for the production of sodium chloride (common salt). Prehistoric man must have learned this process from the accumulation of salts left by the evaporation of shallow pools of sea water above tide level filled during storms and concentrated to the point of crystallization by combined sun and wind. Except in so far as the best method for securing crystals of highest purity has been... 

The sea otters spend their entire lives at sea and only come ashore during storms. They are much smaller than the other marine mammals. Even though otters are very agile swimmers and divers, they are clumsy on shore. Their back feet, which are flipperlike and fully webbed, are larger than their front feet. Internally, their bodies are adapted to deal with the salt in seawater with enlarged kidneys that can eliminate the excess salt. 

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