Application of ASTER data in characterization of environmental pollution in Takab area, NW Iran

The Takab area in NW of Iran is an important gold mineralized region with a long history of gold mining. In this study ASTER data is used to evaluate environmental effects of gold mining. The results show that mining activities have resulted in release of…     

REE Geochemistry of Loess in Xinjiang ,China

The total rare-earth element values(ΣREE)of loess in the Xinjiang region vary over a range of 128-200 ppm ,with an average of 153ppm .The average REE content of loess lies between the earth‘s crust (155ppm) and sedimentary rocks(151ppm).The Xinjiang loess,with the REE distribu-tion patterns characterized by negative slopes ,is rich in the Ce-family elements, and has a distribu-tion pattern characteristic of sedimentary rocks.The North Xinjiang loess is relatively depleted in Tb,but rich in Yb and Lu.The South Xinjiang loess is relatively rich in light rare-earth elements.This is full proof that the Xinjiang loess comes partly from weathered materials(clay rock,sandstone)in the region studied.The REE distribution patterns in the Xinjiang loess are similar to those in the precipitated dust and Aeolian sand,indicating the same material source.The REE distribution pat-terns in the Xinjiang loess are also similar to those in loess from the middle Yellow River Valley,China and Taskent,the former USSR.This implies that loesses of the three locations(Xinjiang,the mid-dle Yellow River Valley and Taskent) come from a common material source.But the REE patterns in the Xinjiang loess are different from those in wall rocks (volcanic rock,K-bearing volcanic rock).Generally ,LREE/HREE,Eu/Eu* and Ce/Ce* ratios reflect the features of parent materials of loess,indicating that the parent rocks were probably in the early stage of alkaline weathering and the weathered materials existed in an oxidation environment with basic mediums under arid-climatic conditions before transport.As a result,the migration ability of the REE is weak.     

Detrital Zircon of 4100 Ma in Quartzite in Burang, Tibet

A detrital zircon aged 4.1 Ga is discovered by the SHRIMP U-Pb method in a quartzite in Burang County, western Tibet. This is presently the oldest single-grain detrital zircon in China. The Th-U ratios of the two testing points of the 〉4.0 Ga zircon are between 0.76 and 0.86, indicating their magmatic origin. This discovery has offered an important age for investigating the geological evolution of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.     

Compositional Characteristics of Wolframite in Tin Dposits,Dupangling,Guangxi

Statistical data on major,trace and rare-earth elements in wolframite from the quartz vein-and greisen-type tin deposits in the Dupangling orefield reveal(1)The components in wolframite can be divided into two relatively independent groups:the WO3-Nb-Ta-Sc-REE group,in which WO3 is negatively correlated with the others and the FeO-MnO-Sn group,in which MnO is negatively corre-lated with the other two;(2)In general ,REE fractionation is not significant,reflected mainly by the separation of Eu from other REE‘s.LREE and HREE increase or decrease simultaneously ,with HREE being more variable;(3)Nb,Ta,Sc,REE substitute for W, and Sn may enter into wolframite lattice accompanied by Fe-Mn substitution;(4)In contrast to wolframite in quartz veins,which is poor in REE,Nb,Ta and has high δEu values and LREE/HREE and Nb/Ta ratios,wolframite in greisen is rich in REE, Nb,Ta,Sc and has low δEu values and LREE/HREE and Nb/Ta ratios ;and (5)The contents and ratios of trace elements and REE parti-tioning parameters of wolframite can be used as guide for prospecting.     

Mode of Occurrence of Gold in Micro-Disseminated Strata-Bound Sb-Au Deposits,Qinling Region,China

Optical studies,backscattered electron images,secondary ion spectrometry and highprecision transmission electron imaging demonstrate that gold is strongly correlated with arsenic on a microscopic scale in the sediment-hosted micro-disseminated gold deposits.The positive correlation between Au and As,despite varying Au/As ratio,is persistent in arsenian pyrite overgrowths and arsenopyrite,It is found that gold occurs in native state as submicro beads in association with arsenic-bearing sulfides,The extremely small grain size of gold may indicate a very rapid process of deposition.     

Assessment of heavy metals contamination in soils of Dexing region, Jiangxi Province, China

Heavy metal contamination has attracted huge concern due to its toxicity, abundance and persistence in the environment, and subsequent accumulation in soil, sediment and water. Mining is one of the most important sources of heavy metals in the environment. Mining-milling operations and disposal of tailings （the finely ground remains of milled ores） in addition to smelting and metal refining provide significant sources of pollution. Mining and mineral processing in the Dexing region of China have been carried out for over forty years and have contaminated the soils with heavy metals, Many studies were conducted to assess and establish the extent of heavy metal contamination in the soils due to mining. The aim of this work was to assess the environmental impact of mining on soils in the Dexing region and to identify the main factors involved in heavy metals dispersion. A 4800 km^2 study area was assessed with respect to its heavy metals on the basis of the current guideline values. In order to assess the extent of heavy metals contamination resulting from past mining activities in the Dexing region, 919 soil samples were collected and analyzed for As, Hg, Cd, Cr, Zn, Cu and Pb, Heavy metals levels were determined using inductively couple plasma-atomic emission spectrometry and X-ray fluorescence spectrometry. Results of soil samples reported concentrations between 1.790-899 mg/kg for As, 0.034-4.980 mg/kg for Hg, 0.043-8.330 mg/kg for Cd, 10-666 mg/kg for Cr, 25-18500 mg/kg for Zn, 6-1825 mg/kg for Cu, and 16-1312 mg/kg for Pb, respectively. The maximum values of As, Hg, Cd, Cr, Zn, Cu and Pb concentration in soils were up to 60, 33, 41, 7, 185, 52 and 37 times higher than the tolerable level, respectively. Meanwhile, the single-factor pollution index and Nemerow pollution index were used to assess the environment quality of heavy metals contamination.     

Environmental geochemistry of arsenic in sediment-water interface of Poyang Lake, China

Environmental pollution is one of the vertical problems faced in the 21 century. There are numbers of lakes located in China. Poyang Lake, which is the largest freshwater lake in China, is the famous representation. The environmental geochemistry of trace and ultra-trace element As in the sediment-water interface （SWI） of Poyang Lake was investigated in detail. Solutions presented in the project can be summarized as follows： it is the first time to discover that the ：nasking agent of 8-hydroxyquinoline was found to be an efficient agent to eliminate the interference of transition metals in the determination of arsenic species, especially to eliminate As （Ⅴ） emission with high selection in the matrix of As （Ⅲ） and As （Ⅴ） coexisting solution. A sensitive and interference-free procedure has been successfully established for the arsenic speciation on As （Ⅲ）, As （Ⅴ）, Asorg in pore water samples using flowing injection hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry （FI-HG-AFS）. It was observed that the concentrations of arsenic species in porewaters were relatively high. With the variation of the redox in sediments, it is easy to cause the second pollution in overlying waters for their upward diffusion. Arsenic is mainly absorbed onto iron and manganese oxyhydroxides in controlling the behavior of As. The effect factors of the transfer, cycle of arsenic are the redox condition at SWI, disturbance, and microbial action, etc.     

Application of the Sequence Stratigraphy in the Study of Cretaceous-Tertiary of the Tarim Basin, Xinjiang, China

1. IntroductionThe Tarim basin, one of the most developed and important areas of marine Cretaceous-Tertiary in China except for south Tibet, is very rich in oil and gas, such as Kekeya oilfield in southwestern Tarim and Kela2 gas field in northeastern Tarim. Because of the expansion, subduction of the oceanic crust of the Tethys and the collision between the India plate and the Eurasia plate during the Cretaceous-Tertiary, the Tethys transgressed into the Tarim basin from west to east fr…     

Contamination and distribution of heavy metals in urban soil in Zhangzhou City, Fujian, China

The urban environment quality is of vital importance as the majority of people now live in cities. Due to the continuous urbanization and industrialization with rapidly increasing economy in China, metals are continuously emitted into soils, imposing a great threat on human health. Urban soils might be affected by industrial activities, transport, agricultural practice, and waste disposal. An extensive survey was conducted in the highly urbanized Zhangzhou City （Fujian Province, China） using a systematic sampling strategy. Concentrations of Hg, Cd, Pb, Zn, Cu, As, Cr and Ni were measured on 108 topsoil samples collected from parks （0-15 cm）, residential areas and suburban agricultural soils. Statistic approach （cluster analysis） was adopted for identification of natural and anthropogenic influence on heavy metal contents. The maps of metal concentrations in surface soils were made based on geographical information system （GIS） data. All of these aim at assessing the distribution of these heavy metals in the urban environment.     

Temporal and Spatial Distribution of Elements in a Small Catchment, and Buffer Function of Wetland in Longgan Lake, China

Wetland is the conjunction of lake and terrene where human activities are concentrated. From the viewpoints of material transport and cycling in the terrene-lake system, wetland is the buffer where sand and mud, heavy metals, pollutants and nutrients are tarried. In this paper, we provide a case study based on the temporal and spatial distribution of elements in the Wangling River catchment, a small sub-catchment of Longgan Lake in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. We have found that wetland can buffer major heavy metals such as Cr, Cu, etc.significantly, but has a little buffer function to some active elements such as Fe and Mn, which are always transported as solutions. Human activities not only influence the distribution of elements, but also weaken the buffer function of wetland. Intensive human activities in the Longgan Lake area in the past 70 years have been recorded in stream, wetland and lake sediments, especially the human activity events such as deforesting and reclaiming on a large scale in 1958 and the 1980‘s. Human activities caused the increase of sedimentation rates since the 1950‘ s, as well as the increase of elements‘ concentrations. The extensive use of fertilizers and pesticides since the 1960‘ s have led to the increase of total P concentrations. Increasing SO2 emission accelerate the process of cation exchange in soil, and enhance the leaching of Mn out of soils. Permanent storing of water causes the soil gleyification that also intensifies the leaching of Mn.These are two major reasons for the obvious increase of manganese concentrations in recent 20 years in Longgan Lake. Intensive human activities since the 1950s‘ have intensified the population in this region and thus destroyed the buffer function of wetland.     

Occurrence of wagnerite in Mg–Al granulites of Sonapahar,Meghalaya

We report for the first time the occurrence of rare phosphate wagnerite as a stable phase from the Mg–Al granulites of Sonapahar. The wagnerite bearing assemblages consist of the spinel, phlogopite, brucite and corundum. The wagnerite appears in the Mg–Al granulites due to the break-down of spinel and fluorapatite. The mineral chemistry of the phases has been discussed from the EPMA data, which reveals that the fluorine content of the wagnerite is relatively low due to the exchange of F to coexisting phases. The major oxide analysis of the rocks show the low content of Ca, which is the requisite for the occurrences of wagnerite.     

Mechanism of Seasonal Deterioration of Water Quality in Lake Baihua,China

Water quality of Lake Baihua was found worsening in the autumn of 1994.Studies have shown that the decomposition of organic matter in the upper-level sediments resulted in seasonal anoxia with the release of P,Mn,and S^2- from the sediments to the overlying water column,and the increase of NO2^- concentration led to blackening of the water column,deat of fishes and secondary Mn pollution.     

Geochemistry Characteristics of Rare Earth Elements in Quartz of Chahe Copper Deposit, Yuanjiang, Yunnan

Please?refer?to?the?attachment(s)?for?more?details.     

Trace Elements Characteristics of Rocks in Chengba, Tibet

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Trace Elements Characteristics of Rocks in Nuri, Tibet

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Assessment of regional change in nitrate concentrations in groundwater in the Central Valley, California, USA, 1950s–2000s

A regional assessment of multi-decadal changes in nitrate concentrations was done using historical data and a spatially stratified non-biased approach. Data were stratified into physiographic subregions on the basis of geomorphology and soils data to represent zones of historical recharge and discharge patterns in the basin. Data were also stratified by depth to represent a shallow zone generally representing domestic drinking-water supplies and a deep zone generally representing public drinking-water supplies. These stratifications were designed to characterize the regional extent of groundwater with common redox and age characteristics, two factors expected to influence changes in nitrate concentrations over time. Overall, increasing trends in nitrate concentrations and the proportion of nitrate concentrations above 5 mg/L were observed in the east fans subregion of the Central Valley. Whereas the west fans subregion has elevated nitrate concentrations, temporal trends were not detected, likely due to the heterogeneous nature of the water quality in this area and geologic sources of nitrate, combined with sparse and uneven data coverage. Generally low nitrate concentrations in the basin subregion are consistent with reduced geochemical conditions resulting from low permeability soils and higher organic content, reflecting the distal portions of alluvial fans and historical groundwater discharge areas. Very small increases in the shallow aquifer in the basin subregion may reflect downgradient movement of high nitrate groundwater from adjacent areas or overlying intensive agricultural inputs. Because of the general lack of regionally extensive long-term monitoring networks, the results from this study highlight the importance of placing studies of trends in water quality into regional context. Earlier work concluded that nitrate concentrations were steadily increasing over time in the eastern San Joaquin Valley, but clearly those trends do not apply to other physiographic subregions within the Central Valley, even where land use and climate are similar.