Benzene contamination at a metal plating facility

A metal plating facility in central Kentucky was required to complete a RCRA Facility Investigation to address a number of Solid Waste Management Units at the site. Twenty monitoring wells were installed at the facility. Ground water from the wells was sampled for total and dissolved metals, polychlorinated biphenyls, acid extractable compounds, base neutral compounds, and volatile organic compounds. Unexpectedly, relatively large concentrations of benzene, up to 120 μg/l, were detected in samples from some of the wells, including wells that should have been hydraulically upgradient from the facility. As a result of the detection of benzene, the facility completed an investigation to identify the source. A nearby facility had completed a gasoline underground storage tank (UST) closure at about the time of the installation of the 20 wells. Reportedly the UST had small holes when removed. Three potential pathways of migration (a ditch, sanitary sewer, and a sink hole) from the nearby facility to the metal-plating facility and residual soils with very large concentrations of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes have been identified.     

Analysis of support requirements for a shallow diversion tunnel at Guledar dam site, Turkey

Engineering geological properties and support design of a planned diversion tunnel at Guledar dam site, which was located at the North of Ankara, Turkey were studied in this article. The main purpose of the construction of the planned tunnel is to regulate, drainage and to provide water for irrigation purposes. The diversion tunnel runs mainly through formations of limestone, sandstone and diabase. Rock masses at the site were characterized using Rock Mass Rating (RMR), Rock Mass Quality (Q), Rock Mass Index (RMi) and Geological Strength Index (GSI). RMR, Q, RMi and GSI were determined by using field data and mechanical properties of intact rock samples, measured in the laboratory. Support requirements for the planned diversion tunnel were determined accordingly in terms of the rock mass classification systems. Recommended support systems by empirical methods were also analyzed using 2D Finite Element method. Calculated parameters based on empirical methods were used as input parameters in the finite element models. The results from both methods were compared with each other. This comparison suggests that more reliable support design could be achieved by using the finite element method together with the empirical methods.     

Ecological modernization and water resource management: a critique of institutional transitions in Ghana

Ghana is endowed with surface and ground water resources. These resources prior to the colonial era were managed by traditional societies through various conventional methods embedded in their cosmovision. However during the colonial and postcolonial regimes, in response to climate change, economic globalization, and population pressure, there has been a conscious shift from customary water management systems towards paradigms cast in the contemporary mould (legislation, policies, and institutions). These modern approaches have been shown over the years to be insufficient in ensuring water sustainability. This insufficiency manifests itself in the increasing water scarcity through anthropogenic-induced water resources degradation and severe climatic variability. Using content analysis, this paper reviews this transition, first to fully understand the intricacies of the evolution and second to draw lessons for better water resources management in Ghana. This paper contends that although Ghana’s water related institutions, laws, and policies are undergoing significant reforms, implementation and practice remains embedded in weak ecological modernization (EM). Institutionalizing a narrow conception of EM will only perpetuate ‘organized irresponsibility’ and permit the continued production of ecological problems, leaving open the question of whether modernization is compatible with ecological sustainability. Though customary water management approaches are not entirely devoid of limitations, simply branding them as obsolete may obviate an important vehicle for water sustainability. In the spirit paradigmatic complementarity, ecosystem-friendly indigenous approaches must be integrated with contemporary management systems for the long term goal of sustainability.     

Glacial lake levels and Eastern Great Lakes Palaeo‐Indians

This article investigates changing lake levels in the late Pleistocene eastern Great Lakes in order to gain insights into the Early Palaeo‐Indian occupations. Significant new information bearing on lake level history is provided, notably the first well‐documented deposits of a high water level above modern in the ca. 11,000–10,300 B.P. period in the southern Lake Huron basin. The lake level information, along with paleoenvironmental and site data, reinforces site age estimates to the 11th millennium B.P.; suggests significant numbers of sites have been inundated by rising water levels; provides specific information on the setting of archaeological sites such as placing the Parkhill site adjacent to a large lake estuary; indicates reasons for the attractiveness of shorelines to Palaeo‐Indians including persistence of more open areas conducive to higher game productivity; and points to ideal areas for future archaeological site survey, particularly in the Lake Erie drainage. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Late Dinantian palaeokarst of England and Wales: implications for exposure surface development

Palaeokarst is an important feature of late Dinantian exposure surfaces. Soil-filled depressions are widely developed. These are comparable to modern day solution dolines and were probably interspersed by areas of relatively bare limestone pavement. The palaeokarst primarily exhibits a smooth, mamillated to potholed surface form, consistent with its formation beneath a soil cover. Areas between the depressions have been extensively stylolitised and would likely have originally been characterized by small-scale fretted and sculpted karren forms typical of subaerial karstification. Palaeokarst pits making up the depressions are thought to have been initiated through stem-flow drainage from trees. Rain water, intercepted by the crown of the tree, was concentrated at specific sites on the emergent surface and dissolution beneath the trunk produced cylindrical pits that propagated vertically downwards. Trees responsible for concentrating drainage may also have enhanced the acidic nature of the rain water through leaching of organic acids from foliar and woody tissues. Downward propagation of the pits was limited to the uppermost 1–2 m and enlargement primarily occurred through lateral amalgamation of adjacent pits. Once initiated, continued development of the depressions would have been self perpetuating; the preferential accumulation of volcanic ash and organic matter enhancing water retention and encouraging further vegetation growth. In contrast, intervening areas would have been characterized by slow vertical denudation only. Karstification likely took of the order of a few hundred years in the case of potholed palaeokarstic surfaces formed solely by stem-flow drainage, to a few tens of thousands of years where the palaeokarst is more mature.     

定福庄地热试验井成井工艺研究

JR-121井位于北京市定福庄南里,开采蓟县系雾迷山组1600m以深热储层的岩溶裂隙水。该试验井施工使用GZ-2000型水源钻机,TBW-850/50型泥浆泵,钻探深度2202.98m。成井过程中,根据不同层段,采用不同成井工艺,在目的含水层的上覆非取水层段,采用分级下套管及水泥封闭的方法进行止水,泥浆与回旋方法钻进;在取水段,采用裸眼孔底钻铤加压、泥浆护壁与回旋钻进。洗井工艺上,采用酸化、液态CO2和空压机引喷相结合的联合洗井方法。使用此成井工艺,止水效果良好,达到了开发岩溶裂隙地热水的目的。     

Alluvial geoarchaeology of a Middle Archaic Mound complex in the lower Mississippi Valley,U.S.A.

The Nolan site (16MA201), ¹⁴C dated 5200–4800 cal yr B.P. and located in the Tensas Basin of northeastern Louisiana, is the only recorded Middle Archaic mound site in the alluvial valley of the Mississippi River. Alluvial deposition has buried the Nolan site under 3–4 m of Holocene sediment, prohibiting traditional excavation of the site. Because data are unattainable by other means, soil coring and subsequent stratigraphic and sedimentological analyses permit reconstruction of the natural and cultural depositional history of the Nolan site. The sedimentary characteristics of basal deposits within cores suggest the presence of an Arkansas River paleochannel immediately adjacent to the site. Chronostratigraphic data show this channel was no longer active by ca. 5200 cal yr B.P. Contrary to existing models, the Arkansas River Meander Belt 4 and the Mississippi River Meander Belt 4 are not the same age. Microartifact and losson‐ignition analyses of sediment identify natural versus cultural strata and permit the identification of artificial constructions—including four earthen mounds and one earthen ridge—at the Nolan site. Overbank sediments attributed to a mapped Mississippi River Stage 4 meander belt are dated ca. 4800–3800 cal yr B.P. This age is considerably younger than previous estimates and demonstrates the existing chronological models for Mississippi River meander belts must be carefully assessed. Core analyses also reveal flood‐related crevasse splays deposited throughout the Tensas Basin after the occupation of the Nolan site. These deposits serve as relative chronological indicators and aid in stratigraphic assessments of the Nolan site. Reconstruction of the earthworks and their stratigraphic context reveals one of the largest and earliest Middle Archaic mound sites in North America. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Factors controlling building susceptibility to earthquakes: 14-year recordings of Islamic archaeological sites in Old Cairo,Egypt: a case study

Cairo City has a large number and different forms of Islamic archaeological sites, in particular, at El-Gammalia and El-Moez streets, as well as Coptic archaeological sites, e.g. at Mari Gergis. Human interference and activities at these historical areas resulted in flooding such sites’ foundations with domestic water, deteriorating its basal courses by salt weathering. The 1992 earthquake is another natural environmental hazard severely affecting many of these sites. The aim of the current study is to examine some factors (of bedrock and buildings) that are expected to control building susceptibility to damage by earthquakes by taking 38 Islamic archaeological sites in the El-Gammalia area as a representative case study. Detailed field recordings of site damage category before and after the quake and continued recording of damage features generated by the 1992 quake over the last 14 years, measuring depth to sub-surface water, measuring buildings’ height before the quake and bedrock sampling at these sites for geotechnical investigations were all considered for achieving this aim. The data has been processed mathematically and graphically (using the Excel package) to examine the main factors responsible for building susceptibility to damage by earthquakes. The selected archaeological sites give an excellent representation of the factors controlling building susceptibility to damage by quakes; it is found that the sites with heights (before the quake) ranging from 12 to 14 m are the most affected ones; the sites with the highest damage category before the quake were more susceptible to more damage by the quake; the sites that had been built on alluvium soil were more affected than those built on the Eocene limestone. The age of these sites has, to a small extent, indirect control on sites’ susceptibility to damage by the quake, particularly in parts flooded with domestic water (i.e. affected by salt weathering). The depth to sub-surface water is an effective parameter on sites’ basal courses (through salt weathering), which, indirectly, control a building’s susceptibility to quakes, particularly where the depth of water ranges from 0.6 to 1.6 m in alluvium bedrock. The alluvium soil at the study area has a liquid limit ranging from 62% to 82%, plastic limit from 37% to 86% and plasticity index from 26% to 46% and free swelling from 27% to 81%. These geotechnical limits for such alluvium bedrock indicate that its clay minerals are mostly montmorrillonite.     

Desiccation of a Clay by Grass,Bushes and Trees

After reviewing the past 60 years of research into the desiccation of clay soils by grass, bushes and trees as it affects shallow building foundations and roads pavements, it was concluded that most past research has been opportunistic and unplanned. Also, no attempt has been made to relate changes of soil water content to rainfall and rates of evapotranspiration. The paper reports the second stage of a sustained programme to observe and understand seasonal and annual changes of soil water content under grass and adjacent to bushes and trees. A 12 months set of two-monthly soil water content contours is presented together with the associated soil water balance, and a method is described for assessing evapotranspiration by bushes and trees by means of a solar energy balance.     

Ordovician strata in the Cliefden Caves area,New South Wales: a case study in the preservation of a globally significant paleontological site

The Cliefden Caves area in central-western New South Wales includes the scientifically most important and irreplaceable examples of fossiliferous Ordovician rocks in the State. Exposures of the stratigraphically lower parts of the Cliefden Caves Limestone Subgroup on the aptly named Fossil Hill are world-famous among paleontologists and internationally significant for preserving the earliest in situ shell beds documented in the literature. They also contain some of the oldest known rugose corals, and an exceptional example of one of the oldest coralline biostromes, as well as many examples of invertebrate fossils and cyanobacterial mat structures that either are unique to this locality or were first described from here. Other stratigraphic levels throughout the total 363?m-thick Cliefden Caves Limestone Subgroup are similarly endowed with highly significant fossils, such as a globally unique in situ shell bank with rare examples of the trimerellide brachiopod Belubula spectacula, a wealth of shelly fossils and trilobites on Dunhill Bluff (adjacent to Fossil Hill to the east), and the appropriately named Trilobite Hill. Less well known to the general public, but of international importance to paleontologists, is the unique deep-water sponge fauna of the overlying Malongulli Formation that occurs at several levels in limestone lenses within this unit. Fossils from the Cliefden Caves Limestone Subgroup and the Malongulli Formation have been documented in more than 60 scientific papers and monographs since paleontological investigations into the site were first published in 1895. Despite concerted scientific endeavour in the region over the past 50?years, much more study needs to be done to fully document the paleontological riches of the Cliefden Caves area. These sites are interpreted as the remains of a tropical island, fringed by limestone and flanked by deep-water environments in which the Malongulli Formation was deposited. Preservation of such islands is exceptionally rare in the geological record. It is therefore vital for the area to remain accessible to scientific researchers to continue their studies. Flooding of the Belubula Valley by a proposed dam downstream from the Cliefden Caves area would hinder future research work on this unique geoheritage resource. Fortunately, a successful public campaign has led to listing of the site on the State Heritage Register that will provide essential protection of the caves from inundation while ensuring continued access to researchers.     

Subglacial drainage by groundwater-channel coupling,and the origin of esker systems: Part 1—glaciological observations

OverallThis work is presented in two parts. Part I presents observations on the coupling between subglacial channel flow and groundwater flow in determining subglacial hydraulic regime and creating eskers from an Icelandic glacier that is suggested as an analogue for many parts of Pleistocene ice sheets. Part II develops a theory of perennial subglacial stream flow and the origin of esker systems, and models the evolution of the subglacial stream system and associated groundwater flow in a glacier of the type described in Part I. It is suggested that groundwater flow may be the predominant mechanism whereby meltwater at the glacier bed finds its way to the major subglacial streams that discharge water to glacier margins.Part IBoreholes drilled through an Icelandic glacier into an underlying till and aquifer system have been used to measure variations in head in the vicinity of a perennial subglacial stream tunnel during late summer and early winter. They reveal a subglacial groundwater catchment that is drained by a subglacial stream along its axis. The stream tunnel is characterised by low water pressures, and acts as a drain for the groundwater catchment, so that groundwater flow is predominantly transverse to ice flow, towards the channel.These perennial streams flow both in summer and winter. Their portals have lain along the same axes for the 5 km of retreat that has occurred since the end of the Little Ice Age, 100 years ago, suggesting that the groundwater catchments have been relatively stable for at least this period. In the winter season, stream discharges are largely derived from basal melting, but during summer, water derived from the glacier surface finds its way, via fractures and moulins, to the glacier bed, where it dominates the meltwater flux. Additional subglacial streams are created in summer to help drain this greater flux from beneath the glacier, through poorly integrated and unstable networks. Summer streams cease to flow during winter and tend not to form in the same places in the following summer. Perennial streams are the stable component of the system and are the main sources of extensive esker systems.Strong flow of groundwater towards low-pressure areas along channels and the ice margin is a source of major upwelling that can produce sediment liquefaction and instability. A theory is developed to show how this could have a major effect on subglacial sedimentary processes.     

Assessment of groundwater contamination from a hazardous dump site in Ranipet, Tamil Nadu, India

Tanneries located in an industrial development area of Ranipet (India) manufactured chromate chemicals during 1976?C1996. A large quantity of associated hazardous solid wastes has been stacked about 5-m high above ground level, spread over 3.5?ha inside one of the factory premises. The study area receives an average annual rainfall of 1,100?mm. The granitic formation in the northern part of Palar River catchment has high infiltration rates and has resulted in fast migration of the contamination to the water table. Chromium levels in the groundwater were found up to 275?mg/l. The available hydrogeological, geophysical and groundwater quality data bases have been used to construct a groundwater flow and mass transport model for assessing the groundwater contamination and it has been calibrated for the next 30?years. The migration has been found to be very slow, with a groundwater velocity of 10?m/year. This is the first field-scale study of its kind in this industrial area. The findings are of relevance to addressing the groundwater pollution due to indiscriminate disposal practices of hazardous waste in areas located on the phreatic aquifer. Further, it has been reported that the untreated effluent discharge adjacent to the chromium dump site is most influential in the migration of contaminants.     

The dehydration process in the zeolite laumontite: a real-time synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction study

The dehydration process of the natural zeolite laumontite Ca₄Si₁₆Al₈O₄₈ · 18 H₂O has been studied in situ by means of powder diffraction and X-ray synchrotron radiation. Powder diffraction profiles suitable for Rietveld refinements were accumulated in time intervals of 5 minutes using a position sensitive detector (CPS-120 by INEL), while the temperature increased in steps of about 5 K. The synchronization of accumulation time and temperature plateau allowed collection of 62 temperature-resolved powder patterns in the range 310–584 K, whose analysis produced a dynamic picture of the laumontite structure response to dehydration. The first zeolitic water molecules diffusing out of the channels are those not bonded to the Ca cations and located in the W(1) site, whose occupancy drops smoothly to 10% during heating to 349 K, while the sample in the capillary is still submerged in water. The remaining W(1) and 60% of W(5) water molecules are expelled rather sharply at about 370 K. At this temperature all remaining water submerging the powder crystallites is lost, the structure contains about 13 water molecules/cell, and the crystal structure is that of leonhardite. On continued heating 80% of the water molecules from the W(2) site are lost between 420 and 480 K, while a small amount of the diffusing water is reinserted in the W(5) site. The occupancy factor of the W(8) site decreases starting at 480 K, and reaches a maximum loss of 20% at 584 K. The combined occupancy of the Ca-coordinated W (2) and W (8) water sites never falls much below two, so that the Ca cations in the channels, which are bonded to four framework oxygen atoms, are nearly six-coordinated in the explored temperature range. The water loss is accompanied by large changes in the unit cell dimensions. Except at 367 K, where the excess surrounding water is leaving, all changes in cell dimensions are gradual. The loss of the hydrogen bonded W(1) and W(5) water molecules is related to most of the unit cell volume reduction below 370 K, as shown by the contraction of the a-, b- and c-axes and the increase in the monoclinic angle. Loss of the Ca-coordinated W(2) and W(8) water molecules has a small effect on the unit cell volume as the continued contraction of the a- and c-axes is counter-balanced by a large expansion in the b-axis and a decrease in the monoclinic β angle.     

Sustainable yield of a karst aquifer system: a case study of Jinan springs in northern China

Based on the long-term monitoring data of rainfall, groundwater levels, groundwater abstraction, spring flow rates and groundwater quality, an assessment has been undertaken of the sustainable yield of a karst aquifer system in Shandong Province, northern China, to maintain perennial outflow of the karst springs while meeting water demands. One of the fundamental indicators for sustainable yield of groundwater is identified as maximum allowable water-level drawdown. A regional three-dimensional finite-difference numerical model has been developed to optimize the schemes associated with well fields and their locations and sustainable yields, in the Jinan spring catchment and its adjacent karst groundwater catchments, with the aim of maintaining the water level higher than the allowable lowest water level of 27.5?m above sea level. Furthermore, measures necessary to move towards sustainable use of the karst groundwater are outlined, drawing on contingency plans of water-source replacement and artificial recharge, dual water supply (based in water quality), use of the spring waters themselves, and groundwater quality protection.     

Investigation of the Geological and Geotechnical Characteristics of Daroongar Dam,Northeast Iran

This paper discusses the results of the engineering geological and geotechnical investigations that have been carried out at the Daroongar dam site. According to the geomorphology and geological conditions and economic reason, the dam has been designed as an earth dam with a clay core. The dam foundation is composed of a sequence of sandy limestone and limy marl of the Upper Cretaceous period. This study is based on field and laboratory investigations, surface discontinuity surveying, drilled borehole data and permeability of dam foundation. The present studies include the evaluation of the dam foundation by water pressure tests. The water pressure tests indicate the necessity to provide a grout curtain below the dam foundation.The geology of the Daroongar dam foundation has a significant influence on the permeability and groutability characteristics. The permeability of jointed rock masses is strongly depended on joint characteristics; degree of jointing, opening, continuity and presence of filling materials. The laboratory tests included tests for unit weight, porosity, uniaxial, triaxial, tensile strength and deformation parameters. The strength and modulus of elasticity of rock masses were determined using the Hoek–Brown empirical strength criterion. The rock mass qualities and classifications of the dam site is assigned using the rock mass rating (RMR), the rock quality (Q) and the geological strength index (GSI) classification systems.     

大同二电厂扩建厂址工程区活动构造评价

大同盆地西侧北北东-北东向鹅毛口-口泉断裂, 属正平移性质, 晚第四纪以来断裂继续活动, 但北东、南西两段活动有明显差异。盆地东侧北东-北东东向六棱山北麓断裂, 亦属正断层性质, 至今仍在活动。距大同二电厂扩建厂址最近的水峪断裂, 晚更新世末3～1.5万年以来已停止活动, 对厂址稳定性不会有影响。     

The Upper Middle Rhine Valley as a risk area

The Upper Middle Rhine Valley, granted the status of a World Heritage site, is well known for its unique inner narrow valley of Quaternary age with its historical legacy of numerous medieval castles and old towns. Less known is that this has always been a risk area of floods and gravitative mass movements. Up to the recent past, mainly ice floods caused enormous damage. The inhabitants of the valley were well aware that they lived in a risk area, but they had learned to handle the flood hazard. With the demise of ice floods over the last 40 years, due to climate change and because of the additional heating of the river water by power plants, the awareness of flood hazards has been much diminished, in contrast to that of potential damage by rockfalls and landslides which were also much feared in the past, though at the local level only. Still in the people’s memory is the Kaub catastrophe of March 10, 1876, when 28 persons were killed by a landslide. Nowadays, even minor rockfalls are a major threat, as they will affect the much-used traffic lines on both banks of the river, in particular the railroads. Therefore, since 2002, on behalf of German Rail (Deutsche Bahn, DB), all problematic slopes have been protected by costly steel-ring nets, although they are an aesthetic problem by UNESCO standards. The feeling of absolute safety created among the public is only subjective, though, as planners are well aware of. Moreover, the impact of modern climate change on slope stability is nearly unknown. Therefore, it is still necessary to develop a risk map for the narrow valley, with emphasis on gravitational hazards.     

A comparison of surface magnetic data and MAGSAT data over Italy and its surroundings

A new composite map of magnetic surface (MAGSURF) anomaly for Italy and its adjacent region has been derived from sea and ground surveys on the basis of an improved definition of the Italian Magnetic Reference Field and its temporal change. Spectral analysis of the MAGSURF anomaly field shows a regional scale energy in the wavelength range 145–500 km, due to the presence of various crustal sources. The regional MAGSURF anomaly map shows poor correlation with the corresponding MAGSAT scalar anomaly map, whose power spectrum reveals wavelength components in the range 300–700 km. The MAGSURF data are upward-continued to an elevation of 100 km for comparison with MAGSAT satellite data, downward-continued to the same altitude of 100 km and low-pass filtered for wavelengths larger than 500 km. Upward-continued surface data and downward continued satellite data show good morphological similarity for wavelengths in the range 300–500 km at an altitude of 100 km. Satellite data permit the characterization of magnetic signatures due to sources located in the middle-lower crust of Sardinia, Lombardia, Molise and Dalmatia, while further surface regional anomalies are connected with upper crust bodies of Mid Tyrrhene and East Sicily.     

'Race' as a scientific and organizational construct: a critique

'Race' for many years has been a major construct of science and society. While its importance as such has not historically been particularly pronounced on a global scale, the emergence of its most forceful architects, the Anglophone countries, to pre-eminence since World War II has significantly extended its geographical range and added to its significance as an idea within commercialized culture as well as within social organization.In the present paper, 'race' is critically examined from the following angles: 1) its role in the behavioral and medical sciences; b) its historical origins and manifestations within the Anglophone countries, particularly the United States; and c) its emergence as a 'liberal' concept and operating principle since World War II. Questions of why and how 'race' arose and its continued use in science, society and culture drive both the trajectory and depth of this research. 'Race' is found to be a modern construct which arose as a consequence of colonialism and slavery, and was substantially constructed in its present form and substance by England and its off-spring societies, particularly the United States. 'Race' was not used as a term expressing a social idea until modern times, and had no basis in the primordial civilizations which greatly influenced modern Western societies (e.g., ancient Greece and Rome). Efforts undertaken by liberals – particularly in the United States – to 'humanize' the concept of 'race' since the 1960's have been largely unsuccessful. 'race' is viewed as inherently hierarchical, a fact which is evident from its historical and present role in science and society.