A Progress in Geochemistry and Mineralogy of Natural Fission Reactors
A special issue of Minerals (ISSN 2075-163X). This special issue belongs to the section "Mineral Geochemistry and Geochronology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 June 2020) | Viewed by 2689
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleague,
Approximately 2 Ga ago, spontaneous fission reactions occurred in uranium deposits at Oklo and Bangombé in the Franceville Basin of SE Gabon. Natural fission reactors have been studied extensively since their discovery in 1972, with the purpose of understanding their origin and physics. The behavior of fission products and actinides in and around the natural reactors has also drawn the attention of investigators, because the results are pertinent to understanding the behavior of these elements in natural systems that may be used as radioactive waste repositories. Despite an impressive amount of data on geology, geochemistry, mineralogy, and physics of the natural reactors, there are still unresolved problems, including the reactors’ evolution and mechanisms of radionuclides and fission products’ release from uraninite and retardation. From a mineralogical perspective, the uniqueness of the natural fission reactors lies in their isotope geochemistry and isotope mineralogy. They are the only places on Earth where some minerals are composed of elements with nonprimordial isotopic abundances. While all natural reactors except one are no more accessible to investigators, there has been ongoing research based on well-documented, previously-collected samples and on the investigation of the Bangombé reactor. This Special Issue aims to publish papers on recent advances in geochemical and mineralogical investigations of natural fission reactors. Review papers emphasizing results obtained during the last two decades are also welcome.
Prof. Dr. Janusz Janeczek
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- natural fission reactors
- geochemistry
- geochronology
- mineralogy
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