The Karaganda coal basin is one of the most gas-bearing in the world. Its feature is that there are no large accumulations of free gas in it, while the natural gas content reaches up to 25-30 m(3)/t; this is confirmed by a large volume of gas sampling, gas logging data, and gas survey data in operating mines. Methane from coal seams enters the atmosphere through natural migration through overlying rocks, as well as at the places where seams outcrop under overburden and through the shafts of closed mines. During degassing of coal seams in the Karaganda basin during the opening of seams by mine workings, including during open-pit mining, seam outcrops to the surface, degassing of the worked-out space of closed mines, part of the extracted methane is used at the mines for obtainingthermal and electrical energy, and the larger part enters the atmosphere during degassing of coal seams. It is known that methane entering the atmosphere retains the Earth's heat significantly higher, by 25-30 times, than carbon dioxide. The extraction of methane from unloaded coal seams for its industrial use in obtaining thermal and electrical energy is an important task in the development of technologies for the integrated development of coal-methane deposits, as well as for reducing the environmental load on the regions where they are located. The purpose of the research is the identification in the section of gas-bearing coal seams for assessing the potential of methane extraction from unloaded seams for its industrial use and reducing emissions into the atmosphere. Methods.A complex of geophysical methods forstudying exploration wells to investigate the physico-mechanical and filtration-capacity properties of coal seams and host rocks, sampling and analysis of coal seam samples in mine workings. Results. Patterns of changes in the complex of physical properties of coal seams determining their gas content have been established, geological justification for these changes and changes in the physico-mechanical properties of host rocks has been given. Application. The gas-bearing coal seams identified in the section can be used in planning methane extraction from all gas-bearing seams of the geological section, including coal seams being developed by mines, and the patterns of changes in physico-mechanical and filtration-capacity properties of coal seams prepared for development or being developed can be used in geomechanical calculations. The factual materials for conducting the research were obtained from the results of laboratory and geophysical studies of exploration wells, materials from geological and production reports.
Cross-modal Geo-localization (CMGL) matches ground-level text descriptions with geo-tagged aerial imagery, which is crucial for pedestrian navigation and emergency response. However, existing researches are constrained by narrow geographic coverage and simplistic scene diversity, failing to reflect the immense spatial heterogeneity of global architectural styles and topographic features. To bridge this gap and facilitate universal positioning, we introduce CORE, the first million-scale dataset dedicated to global CMGL. CORE comprises 1,034,786 cross-view images sampled from 225 distinct geographic regions across all continents, offering an unprecedented variety of perspectives in varying environmental conditions and urban layouts. We leverage the zero-shot reasoning of Large Vision-Language Models (LVLMs) to synthesize high-quality scene descriptions rich in discriminative cues. Furthermore, we propose a physical-law-aware network (PLANET) for cross-modal geo-localization. PLANET introduces a novel contrastive learning paradigm to guide textual representations in capturing the intrinsic physical signatures of satellite imagery. Extensive experiments across varied geographic regions demonstrate that PLANet significantly outperforms state-of-the-art methods, establishing a new benchmark for robust, global-scale geo-localization. The dataset and source code will be released at https://github.com/YtH0823/CORE.
Diamond demonstrates significant application potential in electronic devices owing to its excellent properties, yet its practical application is often limited by interface challenges in precisely controlling its interfacial electronic properties. This study demonstrates that surface termination engineering serves as a potential strategy for effectively modulating the electron affinity (EA) of diamond, thereby tuning the band offsets and Schottky barrier heights (SBHs) at its interfaces. By constructing 24 distinct diamond termination models, the EA of diamond can be tuned from -3.95 to 2.71 eV, governed by the combined effects of surface dipole moment and gap states. Furthermore, the terminated diamond forms a charge-blocking layer at the heterojunction interface, thereby largely preserving the original band positions. Consequently, a linear modulation of the band offset from 0.58 to 4.34 eV is accomplished by integrating beta-Ga2 O3 with 12 different diamond terminations. For metal/diamond contacts, an SBH adjustment from -0.78 to 2.14 eV is achieved at Pt/diamond interfaces by employing different terminations. Notably, the introduction of surface-state-free terminations effectively suppresses metal-induced gap states, thereby achieving significant Fermi-level depinning. This work elucidates the underlying mechanism of termination-induced EA tuning and establishes a paradigm for quantitative band offset and SBH control, providing critical guidance for the rational design of high-performance diamond-based devices. (c) 2026 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The editorial office of Journal of Materials Science & Technology.
Helium (He)-induced degradation of structural materials remains a critical challenge for advanced nuclear energy systems, yet the optimal microstructural strategy to mitigate such damage is unclear. Here, we investigate the microstructural evolution of an oxide dispersion-strengthened (ODS) steel containing high-density oxide particles with misfit interfaces, using single Fe2+ (15 dpa) and dual-beam Fe2 + + He+ irradiation at 450 degrees C (15-50 dpa, 10 appm He/dpa). Single ion irradiation at 15 dpa produces no obvious voids, whereas He markedly promotes cavity nucleation. Under dual ion beam irradiation, cavities preferentially nucleate at misfit oxide particle interfaces rather than at grain boundaries, thereby suppressing He migration toward grain boundaries. On individual oxide particles, cavities tend to form at regions with the most severe lattice misfit, suggesting that misfit heterogeneity governs preferred nucleation sites. With increasing dose, cavities at oxide interfaces exhibit a broader size distribution, while grain-boundary cavities remain small. This indicates that the defect trapping capability of oxide particles is significantly stronger than that of grain boundaries. The synergistic trapping of defects by oxide particles and grain boundaries effectively inhibits large cavity formation, contributing to excellent swelling resistance in ODS steels. These findings elucidate the role of misfit oxide particle interfaces in defect trapping and He management, providing guidance for the design of radiation-tolerant nuclear materials. (c) 2026 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The editorial office of Journal of Materials Science & Technology.
As an ultrawide-bandgap semiconductor for extreme-environment applications, ,B-Ga2O3 exhibits remarkable radiation resistance. However, its behavior under extreme electron irradiation exceeding conventional energy regimes remains largely unexplored. Here, we combine 10 MeV electron irradiation (fluences: 1 & times; 1017 and 5 & times; 1017 cm-2), first principles calculation, and machine-learning molecular dynamics (ML-MD) simulations parameterized to match these conditions to systematically reveal the anisotropic structural limits and phase evolution mechanisms of ,B-Ga2O3. Electron irradiation induces pronounced anisotropic lattice degradation, electronic and optical responses across different crystal planes (100), (010), (001), and (2 & strns; 01). The (100) plane undergoes severe near-surface degradation via the collapse of GaO4 tetrahedra, evidenced by the disappearance of the B(2) g , A(8g) and A(9) g Raman modes. For the (010) orientation, the pronounced channeling effect reduces scattering cross-sections and favors dispersed point defects, broadening the bulk X-ray diffraction (XRD) rocking curve full width at half maximum (FWHM) from similar to 42 to over 155 arcsec. Across the four planes, irradiation induces a similar to 690 nm infrared emission while differentially suppressing their intrinsic blue-violet luminescence. The (001) plane demonstrates the highest overall tolerance. ML-MD simulations reveal that electron irradiation-generated point defects reorganize into a low-fraction, dispersed gamma-phase inclusion that remains structurally coherent with the defective ,B-phase matrix. These insights into the orientation-dependent structural, electronic, optical properties, and phase evolution establish a strategic framework for designing radiation-resistant ,B-Ga2O3 devices with sustained performance under extreme conditions. (c) 2026 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The editorial office of Journal of Materials Science & Technology.
