https://cir.cenieh.es/handle/20.500.12136/6 2026-07-24T21:48:27Z https://cir.cenieh.es/handle/20.500.12136/3555 Title: Long-term iron-bentonite interaction in a water-saturated room-temperature environment: Advancing for safety of metal waste containment in the geosphere Authors: Turrero, María J.; Torres, Elena; Martín, Pedro L.; Fernandez, Raúl; Ruiz, Ana I.; Ortega, Almudena; Garralón, Antonio; Notario Collado, Belén; Mota, Carlos; Cuevas, Jaime F. Abstract: Corrosion of C-steel containers may affect the long-term safety of deep geological repositories. To address uncertainties, the FeMo experiment was initiated in 2007 to evaluate iron mobility and bentonite alteration under aerobic conditions, granite-type water saturation, high corrosion rates, and room temperature. After 15 years, the experiment was dismantled for comprehensive analysis. The Fe-bentonite interface exhibited a multi-layered structure, with a black iron stripe and a brown-stained bentonite zone (2–5 mm thick). Altered iron comprised magnetite (50%), goethite (25%), siderite (5%), and ≈20% wt. metallic iron. The brown zone contained montmorillonite, cristobalite, feldspar, quartz, magnetite, goethite, lepidocrocite, and minor siderite. Chemical zonation of Fe, Mg, and Ca was observed within the first 0.5 mm from the interface. Iron penetrated up to 2–3 mm into the bentonite. Evidence of a trioctahedral clay component mixed with montmorillonite was found. Magnetite, carbonates, and Mg-rich clays precipitated under alkaline reducing conditions during the oxic-anoxic transient at the interface (<1 mm). This study's results are not only relevant for guaranteeing radioactive waste repository safety but also to assess other heavy metal containment strategies in other environmental applications, such as mines and landfills. 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z https://cir.cenieh.es/handle/20.500.12136/3482 Title: Superficies de erosión y denudación durante el Cenozoico en el Geoparque Mundial de la UNESCO Las Loras (cordillera Cantábrica, Burgos-Palencia) Authors: Benito-Calvo, Alfonso; Martínez-Fernández, Adrián; Moreno García, Davinia; Chicote Cuesta, Ángela Abstract: En este estudio se han analizado las superficies de erosión en el Geoparque Mundial de la UNESCO Las Loras (Burgos- Palencia), situado en el pedimento centro-meridional de la cordillera Cantábrica que enlaza con la cuenca del Duero. Este estudio, dirigido a estudiar las fases de denudación cenozoicas preservadas en los sinclinales aplanados y colgados que integran las loras, se ha basado en la cartografía geomorfológica a partir de trabajo de campo y la interpretación de cartografías digitales. Las superficies identificadas forman una secuencia de 8 niveles (S1-S8). El arrasamiento más antiguo S1, posiblemente de edad Paleoceno, podría estar relacionado con la base de la macro-secuencia estratigráfica paleógena de La Ojeda, que registró las primeras erosiones continentales justo tras el levantamiento de la secuencia marina del Cretácico superior por el inicio de la compresión alpina. Posteriormente, durante la compresión alpina principal (Eoceno y el Oligoceno superior) se debieron producir como mínimo otras cuatro reactivaciones del relieve que dieron lugar a la formación de las superficies de erosión S2-S5. Estas fases de desmantelamiento del relieve habrían quedado registradas en el tramo superior de la macrosecuencia paleógena, formada por potentes depósitos aluviales acumulados en las pequeñas cuencas de antepaís que marcaron los estadios iniciales de la cuenca del Duero. La última superficie paleógena en relación con la compresión principal pudo ser la superficie S5 (Oligoceno-Mioceno inferior). Entre los arrasamientos ya plenamente neógenos, destaca la superficie de mayor extensión, S6, que presenta una conexión directa con los abanicos aluviales de la formación Alar del Rey (Astaraciense, Mioceno medio), y está deformada por una fase tectónica al final del Mioceno medio que causó la reactivación del frente cantábrico. Las superficies más recientes, S7 y S8, forman planos menores que enrasan con unidades siliciclásticas de piedemonte, las cuales representarían, respectivamente, las fases de colmatación (Turoliense, Mioceno superior) y primer vaciado (Plioceno) de la cuenca del Duero. 2025-06-01T00:00:00Z https://cir.cenieh.es/handle/20.500.12136/3376 Title: A new reference block for field gamma spectrometry applicationsin (ESR) and luminescence dating Authors: Duval, Mathieu; Val Blanco, Miren del; Alonso Escarza, María Jesús; Arnold, L.J.; Demuro, M.; Guilarte, V.; Kumar, R.; Mercier, N.; Schwenninger, J.-L.; Tribolo, C.; López, G.I. Abstract: A new granite-doped concrete block with 60 cm x 60 cm x 60 cm dimensions has been built at CENIEH, Burgos, Spain, for dosimetry calibration and cross-referencing purposes. Independent evaluations of the block's gamma dose rate using passive Al2O3:C dosimeters and various field gamma spectrometer (NaI) probes produce consistent results of 1495 $\pm$ 51 $\mu$Gy a-1 and 1514 $\pm$ 43 $\mu$Gy a-1 (or 1537 $\pm$ 19 $\mu$Gy a-1, depending on the evaluation procedure employed), respectively. Bulk radioelement concentrations calculated from field gamma spectrometry using the Windows method are as follows: K = 1.58 $\pm$ 0.08 \%, U = 4.26 $\pm$ 0.28 ppm, and Th = 12.62 $\pm$ 0.72 ppm. This new block complements existing dosimetry reference materials accessible at other laboratories and is available for the broader trapped charge dating community to use for instrument calibration, reproducibility assessments and intercomparison studies. 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z https://cir.cenieh.es/handle/20.500.12136/3369 Title: Paleolithic occupations in the Lahn Valley of Central Germany: New dating and ZooMS results from Wildscheuer, Wildweiberlei, and Wildhaus Authors: Kitagawa, K.; Burger-Völlmecke, D.; Brown, Samantha; Olsen, J.; Riede, F. Abstract: There is limited evidence of repeated occupations by Neanderthals or modern humans in the part of Central Germany that roughly corresponds to the present-day Federal State of Hesse. The Lahn Valley located in the southwestern sector of this region is an exception. Based on early excavations of a series of now destroyed sites, the Lahn Valley has yielded sparse evidence of Neanderthal occupation from the Middle Paleolithic and has produced a more substantive Upper Paleolithic sequence including the Aurignacian, Gravettian, and Magdalenian, as reflected in the lithic and organic material culture. The present study attempted (i) to gain greater understanding of the chronology and use of animals by humans in the Wildscheuer cave, and (ii) to contextualize the Lahn Valley in the broader Paleolithic landscape of Central Europe. We targeted over a dozen samples consisting of faunal remains with fresh fractures, osseous artifacts, and human remains that derive from the cave site. The results confirm previous findings with the dates concentrated around the middle-to-late Aurignacian. These data suggest that, unlike cave-rich areas to the south (i.e. the Swabian Jura), the Wildscheuer was occupied neither immediately nor consistently when modern humans arrived in the region but also that multiple occupational events took place during the remainder of the Upper Paleolithic. This aligns with the ursid remains from the nearby Wildweiberlei, which predate the human occupation. Conversely, our dating efforts did not find evidence of substantial Gravettian or Magdalenian occupation in Wildscheuer, although this may also be a result of our modest sample size. In addition, ZooMS analysis revealed one of the first evidence of the use of wooly rhinoceros in the production of osseous artifacts such as smoothers. This study calls for renewed attention to the Lahn Valley as archaeometric methods that may be applied to legacy materials improve, and in tandem with our greater understanding of the early to late Upper Paleolithic in Central Europe on a regional to sub-regional scale. Description: Full ZooMS Data are available at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10839894 2025-02-01T00:00:00Z