Developing the scientific framework for urban geochemistry

Urban geochemistry is a unique discipline that is distinguished from general geochemistry by the complex infrastructure and intense human activities associated with concentrated population centers. As stated by Thornton (1991) “This subject is concerned with the complex interactions and relationships between chemical elements and their compounds in the urban environment, the influence of past and present human and industrial activities on these, and the impacts or effects of geochemical parameters in urban areas on plant, animal and human health.” Urban areas present special challenges to geochemists attempting to understand geochemical states and fluxes. On the 5–6 of August, 2014, the first meeting of the reorganized Urban Geochemistry Working Group of the International Association of GeoChemistry (IAGC) was held in Columbus, Ohio, United States. Two goals of the meeting were to develop the overall scope, and a general definition of urban geochemistry. Five grand themes were developed: 1) recognizing the urban geochemical signature; 2) recognizing the legacy of altered hydrologic and geochemical cycles in urban environments; 3) measuring the urban geochemical signature; 4) understanding the urban influence on geochemical cycles from the continuous development and erosion of physical infrastructure and episodic perturbations; and 5) relating urban geochemistry to human and environmental health and policy. After synthesizing the discussion of these themes we offer the following perspective on the science of urban geochemistry building on the work of Thornton (1991): Urban geochemistry as a scientific discipline provides valuable information on the chemical composition of environments that support large populations and are critical to human health and well-being. Research into urban geochemistry seeks to 1) elucidate and quantify the sources, transport, transformations, and fate of chemicals in the urban environment, 2) recognize the spatial and temporal (including legacies) variability in these processes, and 3) integrate urban studies into global perspectives on climate change, biogeochemical cycles, and human and ecosystem health. We hope that this discussion will encourage other geochemists to engage in challenges unique to urban systems, as well as provide a framework for the future of urban geochemistry research.     

Assessment of mercury contamination and human exposure associated with coastal disposal of waste from a cinnabar mining operation, Palawan, Philippines

 An integrated geochemical and toxicological assessment of environmental mercury contamination and attendant human exposure in Honda Bay, Palawan was undertaken in 1995 following a nationally reported pollution scare centered on a coastal jetty, Sitio Honda Bay, constructed using approximately 1 million tons of tailings and beneficiation waste from a cinnabar mine. Mercury (Hg) data for marine and fluvial sediments, fish tissues and human hair indicate that the toxicological hazard is considerably lower than initially reported by state environment and health officials. Typical Hg concentrations in surficial Honda Bay sediments were found to lie within the global background range (<60 μg/kg). Downcore profiles provide no evidence of enhanced Hg fluxes coincident with the onset of mining and/or coastal tailings disposal. The mean and median Hg concentrations recorded in tissues of six species of Honda Bay fish are compliant with thresholds established by the US Environmental Protection Agency (US-EPA) for marketable stocks. Earlier reports of 'Minamata range' Hg concentrations in fish and shellfish from Honda Bay remain unsubstantiated. Geochemical analyses of samples of the Sitio Honda Bay substrate have confirmed the prevalence of solid-phase Hg concentrations to ca. 340 mg/kg. The speciation of Hg is, however, dominated by secondary oxides of low bioavailability. The mean Hg concentration in hair from Sitio Honda Bay residents (4.41 mg/kg) was found to be statistically analogous to that for a neighbouring coastal community unimpacted by the coastal disposal of mine waste. A negligible residential exposure factor is thus inferred for the former. Relatively high hair Hg burdens prevail throughout the coastal Honda Bay population, consistent with significant methyl Hg ingestion through daily fish consumption. The data presented provide no environmental or toxicological justification for immediate remedial action. Received: 14 May 1998/Accepted: 1 September 1998     

Fertiliser characterisation: Major,trace and rare earth elements

In recent years, there has been increasing concern regarding the chemical impact of agricultural activities on the environment so it is necessary to identify contaminants, and/or characterise the sources of contamination. In this study, a comprehensive chemical characterisation of 27 fertilisers of different types used in Spain has been conducted; major, minor and trace elements were determined, including rare earth elements. Results show that compound fertilisers used for fertigation or foliar application have low content of heavy metals, whereas fertilisers used for basal and top dressing have the highest content of both REE and other heavy metals. REE patterns of fertilisers have been determined in order for them to be used as tracers of fertilisers in future environmental studies. Furthermore in this work REE patterns of fertilisers are used as tracers of the source of phosphate in compound fertilisers, distinguishing between phosphorite and carbonatite derived fertilisers. Fertilisers from carbonatites have higher contents of REE, Sr, Ba and Th whereas fertilisers from phosphorites have higher contents of metals of environmental concern, such as Cd, U and As; and the sum of the heavy metals is higher. Some of the analysed fertilisers have Cd concentrations that exceed maximum values established in some countries and can be expected to produce long-term soil accumulation. Furthermore, other elements such as U, As and Cr are 10–50 times higher in concentration than those of Cd, but there is no legislation regarding them, therefore it is necessary to regulate fertiliser compositions in order to achieve environmental protection of soils and waters.     

Lead isotope composition of tree rings as bio-geochemical tracers of heavy metal pollution: a reconnaissance study from Firenze,Italy

Pb isotope composition of tree rings (Celtis Australis) and urban aerosols have been determined to assess whether arboreal species can be used as bio-geochemical tracers of the evolution of heavy metal pollution to the environment. Particular care was paid to setting up a high quality analytical technique to work with arboreal species with low Pb content. The Pb isotope composition of tree rings from 1950 to 1995 is within the range of European aerosols and is correlated with the temporal evolution of Pb isotopes measured in air particulates from Firenze. The entire data set (tree rings and air particulates) demonstrate that Pb isotope composition of tree rings can be used successfully as a proxy of the atmospheric Pb isotope composition of urban areas. This, in turn, suggests that tree rings are potentially a powerful bio-geochemical tracer for monitoring air pollution history due to human activities.     

铂族元素的表生地球化学研究进展

基性-超基性岩及黑色页岩等风化过程中铂族元素发生了活化和迁移。铂族元素在岩体附近土壤、植物和水体等表生介质中的迁移富集特征可以用来寻找岩浆型铂族元素矿床。黑色页岩风化过程中，Os的表生迁移对海洋^187Os／^188Os值上升有重要意义。此外，作为重金属元素，机动车铂族元素催化剂在环境中的释放，也会带来潜在的生态环境和人体健康问题。     

海洋沉积物动力学的示踪物方法

本文的论题是示踪物方法在海洋物源追踪和沉积物输运率计算中的应用 ,以及示踪物方法的普适性理论框架。定量的物源追踪需要适当的示踪标记和物质混合模型 ,有必要根据沉积动力过程的研究来确定示踪标记的变换函数 ,从而将改进的示踪标记用于混合模型分析。人工示踪物实验的现有方法以空间积分法最为常用 ,其关键是示踪物质心运动和沉积物活动层的界定。天然示踪物的质心位置是无法定义的 ,因此不能借用传统人工示踪物方法来估算物质输运率 ;在某些特殊情形下 ,可以利用天然示踪物的质量守衡原理来获得物质输运信息。今后 ,以示踪物质的连续方程为基础 ,有可能建立一种同时适用于人工和天然示踪物的普适理论框架。其中需解决的问题包括示踪物与现场物质的差异、沉积速率和活动层厚度的时间尺度、沉积物扩散过程等。     

Tracers – Past,present and future applications in CO2 geosequestration

Chemical tracers have been used in various C capture and storage (CCS) projects worldwide primarily to provide information regarding subsurface migration of CO₂ and to verify CO₂ containment. Understanding the movement and interactions of CO₂ in the subsurface is a challenging task considering the variety of states in which it exists (i.e. gas, liquid, supercritical, dissolved in water) and the range of possible storage mechanisms (i.e. residual or capillary trapping, dissolved in water, structural trapping or incorporation into minerals). This paper critically reviews several chemical tracer applications and case studies for CCS projects. In many instances, there are parallels (e.g. tracer classes and applications) between tracers in the oil and gas industry and in CCS. It has been shown that chemical tracers can complement geophysical measurements (e.g. seismic) in understanding the formation behaviour of CO₂. Although tracers have been successfully used in many CCS projects, some fundamental information, for example partitioning and adsorption, about the behaviour of tracers is still lacking and this can be an issue when interpreting tracer data (e.g. determining leakage rates). In this paper the deployment and recovery of chemical tracers and their use on various CCS projects are described.     

Provenance and structure of the Yancannia Formation,southern Thomson Orogen: implications for the tectono-stratigraphic evolution of the Cambro-Ordovician western Tasmanides

Abstract

The upper Cambrian Yancannia Formation is a small and isolated basement exposure situated in the southern Thomson Orogen, northwestern New South Wales. Understanding the geology of the Yancannia Formation is important, as it offers a rare glimpse of the composition and structure of the mostly covered basement rocks of the southern Thomson Orogen. It consists of deformed fine-grained, lithic-rich, turbiditic metasediments, suggesting deposition in a proximal, low-energy deep-marine environment. A 497 ± 13 Ma U–Pb detrital zircon date provides its maximum depositional age, the same as previously published for a tuff horizon in a correlative unit. Analysis of sedimentological, geochronological and geophysical data confirms the Yancannia Formation belongs to the Warratta Group. The Warratta Group exhibits many similarities to the Teltawongee Group in the adjacent Delamerian Orogen, including similar provenance, sedimentology and deep-water turbiditic depositional environment. Additionally, there is no sedimentological evidence for deposition of the Warratta Group following the ca 500 Ma Delamerian Orogeny, which suggests that the Warratta Group is syn-Delamerian. However, no geochronological or structural evidence for Delamerian orogenesis was observed in the Warratta Group, suggesting that the group was either unaffected by Delamerian orogenesis, or that no conclusive record remains. The provenance signature of the Warratta Group also bears strong similarities with the upper Cambrian Stawell Zone Saint Arnaud Group in the western Lachlan Orogen. Units east of Yancannia have similar provenance signatures to the Lower Ordovician Girilambone Group of the Lachlan Orogen, suggesting equivalents exist in the southern Thomson Orogen. These are likely to be the Thomson beds, deposited in a deep-marine setting outboard of the Delamerian continental margin. Structural analysis from a ～10 km, semi-continuous, across-strike section indicates a major, kilometre-scale, upright, shallow northwest-trending, doubly plunging anticline dominates the Yancannia region. This D₁ structure was associated with tight-to-isoclinal folding, penetrative cleavage and abundant quartz veining of probable Benambran age. Later dextral transpressional deformation (D₂) produced a sporadic, weak cleavage and dextral faulting, possibly of Bindian age. Major south-directed thrusting (D₃) on the adjacent Olepoloko Fault occurred in the early Carboniferous and appears to pre-date a later deformation event (D₄), which was associated with kink folding.     

Derivation of Recommended Values: An Opinion*

Two principal approaches are being used currently to develop reference samples used in geochemistry. The first is typified by work at The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to develop standard reference materials (SRMs) whose elemental concentrations are certified. All data is collected under stringent quality control (QC). Agreement between average results for replicated analyses (6≤n<20) obtained by two or more analysts using either a single, definitive method or independent methods of analysis is required for certification; a large number of laboratory/method average results is not. The United States Geological Survey (USGS), International Working Group (IWG), and others base recommended concentrations on larger sets of compiled data, which may or may not have been collected under similar conditions of QC. The derived recommended concentrations are updated periodically, on the assumption that recommended concentration quality improves as the size of the data base increases. That assumption is examined in this paper, and the general lack of statistically significant difference between original and updated concentration is demonstrated.     

岩溶动力学理论的发展与国际岩溶研究中心的成立

1990年至今,笔者带领的国土资源部岩溶动力学重点实验室研究群体连续成功申请与实施了与岩溶有关的IGCP299、IGCP379、IGCP448和IGCP513四个国际地质对比计划项目,为国际岩溶学术界同行提供了一起学习、工作机会,进而共同解决岩溶形成、碳循环、岩溶生态、水资源等领域的资源与环境问题。[第一段]      

石炭纪杜内阶-维宪阶界线定义介绍

简要介绍了杜内阶 -维宪阶界线定义的历史和现状 ,包括舍费尔德会议原始定义 ,牙形石 Guathodus texa-nus带底界定义 ,有孔虫 Eoparastaffella形态演化定义。2 0 0 1年 9月在美国圣路易斯举行的国际石炭纪地层委员会现场会议期间 ,非正式通过了石炭纪杜内阶 -维宪阶界线新定义 ,即“有孔虫 Eoparastaffella ovalis类群— E. sim-plex谱系中 Eoparastaffella simplex的首次出现”     

THE EUROPEAN MACROSEISMIC SCALE (MSK-92)

A new updated version of the MSK macroseismic intensity scale has been prepared by a Working Group of the European Seismological Commission and has been published in April 1993 (European Macroseismic Scale 1992: updated MSK scale, 1993, ed. by G. Grünthal, Cahiers du Centre Européen de Geodynamique et de Séismologie, no. 7).     

The Precambrian—Cambrian boundary: A symposium

Contributions to a symposium of the IUGS Subcommission on Cambrian Stratigraphy at the International Geological Congress in Montreal in 1972 are the basis of this paper which is intended to give guidance to further work of what is now a Working Group on the Precambrian—Cambrian boundary of the International Geological Correlation Programme (UNESCO/IUGS). The proposed principles for the definition of the boundary are based on those accepted by the Commission on Stratigraphy, particularly on stratigraphic classification and on defining the Silurian—Devonian boundary. These matters are discussed by the authors in general terms and by W.B. Harland in terms of procedure. They are illustrated by examples of stratigraphic sequences across the boundary in Siberia given by A.Yu. Rozanov and discussed critically by V.E. Savitsky. New relevant discoveries of Early Cambrian faunas and their stratigraphic setting are reviewed by A. Boudda et al. P.E. Cloud's contribution, published elsewhere, and work in Australia are reviewed by the authors.The conclusions, based not only on the symposium material but also on current opinion, are that no single sequence which could serve as a reference standard for the Precambrian—Cambrian boundary has yet been identified but that many significant ones have been described which will be further examined. While the general limits for the choice of a boundary definition should lie between the horizons with fossils of Ediacaran type and those with diversified trilobite assemblages, a number of “Working Reference Points” exist in that interval which are correlatable horizons of faunal change. These cannot be defined simply as horizons of first appearance.     

窟野河流域中游煤矿区地下水质量及补给来源研究

为查明神东矿区地下水质量状况和补给来源,分析测试了不同含水层(第四系松散层、白垩系洛河组、侏罗系直罗组和延安组含水层)的一般化学指标、毒理学指标和环境同位素(D、18O、3H)的值,利用环境同位素(D、18O、3H)分析该区地下水的补给来源和更新能力,利用单指标综合评价和影响因素识别相结合的方法研究了区内地下水的质量现状和影响因素,采用四步法计算出毒理学指标的饮水途径健康风险值。结果表明:(1)第四系松散层地下水、白垩系洛河组地下水和侏罗系风化带水主要为现代大气降水补给,更新快。侏罗系深层基岩裂隙水主要为晚更新世冰期降水补给,与现代降水基本无水力联系;(2)侏罗系延安组地下水水质较差,Ⅳ-Ⅴ类水所占比例较高,达到47.9%,其他含水层地下水水质较好。总体上,对Ⅳ-Ⅴ类水单指标贡献率较大的指标为钠氟化物TDS氯化物硫酸盐;(3)毒理学指标中氟化物的健康风险值最大,其他毒理学指标健康风险基本都在可接受范围内。因此,氟化物应作为水污染监测和防治中的优先控制物。本次研究成果将为矿区水源地的选择和污染物防控提供科学依据。     

Comparative tracing experiments in a porous aquifer using bacteriophages and fluorescent dye on a test field located at Wilerwald (Switzerland) and simultaneously surveyed in detail on a local scale by radio-magneto-tellury (12–240 kHz)

This article presents an example of a tracing experiment using two bacteriophages, T7 and f1, and a fluorescent dye (naphthionate), in a saturated porous environment. The test field was equipped with an injection borehole and 22 sampling piezometers set in three concentric half-circles. The distribution of permeabilities and the thickness of the aquifer were indirectly determined by Radio-Magneto-Tellury (RMT, 12–240 kHz). The results reveal a good correlation between the distribution of permeabilities obtained by RMT and the breakthrough curves and speed of migration of all three tracers. The restitution levels are far superior (by two to three orders of magnitude) in the more permeable zones, as opposed to those observed in th piezometers situated in less permeable areas. The speed of migration of the biological tracers is much greater than that of the naphthionate. In the most extreme case, the T7 bacteriophage migrated about 3.15 times faster than the chemical solution. These results indicate that bacteriophages are able to travel considerable distances along permeable gravel channels. They may be used as biological tracers and as models for the migration of pathogenic viruses. The simultaneous use of tracing techniques and appropriate geophysical methods leads to a better knowledge of the hydrogeological parameters of the underground terrain. This combination allows for a better interpretation both of the speeds of migration and of the maximal concentrations of the tracers, and thus considerably increases the interpretability of hydrogeological impact studies.     

Bio-volatilization of polonium: Results from laboratory analyses

Polonium, like other elements in the Group VI Oxygen series (S, Se, Te), has the potential to form volatile alkyl derivatives. This may be evident in its pervasive radioactive excesses in the atmosphere and coastal waters, and its deficiency in surface open ocean waters. We present evidence for the formation of volatile polonium species. The first evidence comes from duplicating experiments that proved the existence of volatile tellurium, its Group VI congener. Cultures of bread mold at room temperature spiked with polonium tracers showed a significant and reproducible loss of about 0.5% per day of volatile polonium species. In another set of experiments, between 30–50% loss of²¹⁰Po was observed from Floridan groundwater when nitrogen was bubbled through it over durations of 5–30 minutes. Polonium volatility is highly relevant for biogeochemical studies because it may provide a natural radiochemical tracer for recycling of similar volatile sulfur and other Group VI metal species between the geosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere.     

Quantification of the saturation degree of nonaqueous phase liquid in the vadose zone using hydrocarbon partitioning tracers

Partitioning tracer tests, as an alternative to the core sampling method, were conducted to quantify the degree of saturation of water and nonaqueous phase liquids (NAPL) in the vadose zone. Hydrocarbon gases, which have less effect on global warming than conventional tracers, were used as partitioning tracers. Column tests using CH₄, C₃H₅, and C₄H₁₀ as non-partitioning and partitioning tracers were performed to determine the retardation factor and partition coefficient of the tracer into water and NAPL. The retardation factors of these tracers were estimated to be in the range of 1.0–7.0 based on breakthrough curves of the tracers. The partition coefficient of C₃H₅ to water and diesel phase was calculated to be 0.57 and 8.45, respectively. For a heavier tracer, C₄H₁₀, the partition coefficient to the water and diesel phases was 1.2 and 40.5, respectively. The average value of water and diesel saturation estimated from column tests agreed well with known values in unsaturated soil. A residence time longer than 7.5 h within soil pores was found to provide local equilibrium partitioning of the tracer to the diesel phase. The concentration of tracer had no effect on the partitioning process.     

某工厂夜光车间环境放射性监测、评价及防护

在黑暗环境中显示仪表指示常采用荧光技术。某工厂夜光车间是利用掺人放射性物质的荧光粉对玻璃制品进行涂抹、描绘等工艺加工的生产车间。由于荧光粉中掺人放射性物质^226Ra、^40K,^226Ra、^40K在自发衰变过程中会放出α、β、γ射线,对人体会产生不同程度的损伤,大剂量或累计照射会对人类造成一定辐射影响。因此,工作时应严防人为等意外因素可能造成超安全计量的放射性损害。为确保夜光车间工作人员和公众人身健康与安全,必须定期对夜光车间及周围环境进行放射性监测与评价。通过环境放射性监测．分析环境辐射水平,寻找可能存在的问题,进而提出保障人体健康的防护措施。     

On some methodological problems in the use of environmental tracers to estimate hydrogeologic parameters and to calibrate flow and transport models

Environmental tracers are used qualitatively for a better formulation of conceptual models and quantitatively for assessing groundwater ages with the aid of box models or for calibrating numerical transport models. Unfortunately, tracers often yield different ages that do not represent uniquely the water ages. Difficulties result also from different definitions of age, e.g. water age, advective age, tracer age, or radiometric tracer age, that are measured differently and depend on aquifer parameters and characteristics of particular tracers. Even the movement of an ideal tracer can be delayed with respect to the advective movement of water due to diffusion exchange between mobile and immobile water zones, which for fissured rocks or thin aquifers, may lead to significant differences between advective and tracer ages, i.e. also between advective and tracer velocities. The advective velocity is of importance in water resources considerations as being related to Darcy velocity, whereas the tracer velocity is a more useful term for the prediction of pollutant transport. When a groundwater system changes from one hydrodynamic steady state to another, environmental tracers need much more time to reach a new steady state. Several tracer studies are recalled as examples of tracer-specific effects on the estimations of groundwater age.