Selenium contamination in the Colorado River Basin, western USA： Remediation by leaching and nanof＇dtration membranes

Selenium （Se） is an essential micronutrient to biota, but can become a potent toxicant at elevated concentrations. The natural sources and chemical properties of Se species make the boundary between deficiency and toxicity narrow for some biota, with both phenomena common around the globe. Large areas of farmland in the Colorado River Basin （CRB） generate salinized drainage water with Se concentrations much higher than 5 μg/L, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency chronic water-quality criterion for the protection of aquatic life. We have carried out detailed field and laboratory studies to investigate Se geochemistry and remediation in two of these areas： the Middle Green River Basin, Utah and the Salton Sea Basin, California, located respectively in the Upper and Lower CRB. Results from these and other studies show that approximately 90% of the dissolved Se in the Colorado River and its tributaries originally is derived from the Upper Cretaceous Mancos Shale and equivalent pyritic marine units that outcrop in the Upper CRB. Selenium is mobilized commonly by biogeochemical oxidation of this pyritic shale and is concentrated mainly as selenate （SeO4^2-） in soils and agricultural drainage water of dry climates by evaporation. Minor （0%-5%） amounts of Se are present as the selenite species （HSeO3^-） and （SEO3^2-）, but these species and the more reduced species, elemental Se （SeO） and selenide （Se^2-）, have much lower solubility and/or have high sorptive affinity towards organic matter, clay minerals and iron oxyhydroxides. The concentration of dissolved Se （-2.5 μg/L） and salinity in the Lower Colorado River water are among the highest of the world major rivers. Because of low precipitation （7 cm/a） and extreme evapotranspiration （-1.8 m/a） rates in the Salton Sea Basin, California, Se values in irrigation water imported from the Colorado River increase to 〉300 μg/L in drainage wastewater. Removal of Se from contaminated wastewater by nanofiltration membranes was demonstrated in laboratory and pilot-scale field experiments.     

Associations and mobility of uranium in soils near a depleted uranium （DU） weapons testing site, SW Scotland

Natural uranium has three isotopes, ^238U, ^235U and ^234U, with natural abundances of 99.27 atom %, 0.72% and 0.0055%, respectively. Only ^235U is fissile and the production of nuclear fuel and nuclear weapons involves enrichment of uranium in ^235U. This process also results in separation of ^234U from ^238U, leaving depleted uranium （DU）, with typical ^234U/^238U and ^235U/^238U activity ratios of about 0.19 and 0.013, respectively, as a waste product. The high density, high melting and boiling points and chemical stability of uranium and the availability of DU in relatively pure form mean that DU has many uses, including armour-piercing munitions. Such munitions have been developed in the UK since the 1960s and testing has been carried out by the Ministry of Defence （MoD） at firing ranges such as Dundrennan, SW Scotland and Eskmeals, NW England. The firing of DU munitions can result in the dispersion of DU and its combustion products （oxides） as aerosols or as larger fragments, with the potential for human exposure either directly at the site of detonation or via post-depositional migration in the environment. The aim of this work was to investigate the potential environmental mobility of DU by characterizing the associations of U in soil porewaters with increasing distance from a firing site. To this end, several soil cores located down-wind of the firing site at Dundrennan, near Kirkcudbright, SW Scotland, were collected in May 2006. These were sectioned on-site into 1- or 2-cm depth intervals and porewaters were isolated by centfifugation （10 minutes; 8873 g） on return to the laboratory. Following filtration through 0.2-micron cellulose nitrate filters, the porewaters were analyzed by ICP-QMS （U concentration） and ICP-OES （Fe, Al, Ca, Mg, Mn concentrations）. Sub-samples were also subjected to centrifugal ultrafiltration （100, 30, and 3 kD） and to gel electrophoretic fractionation （agarose; 0.045 M Tris-borate; 20 mA, 30 minutes）. Results showed that U was present at up to 4 μg/L in the soil porewater and that the associations of U varied with sample location and soil depth.     

Factors controlling the spatial and temporal variability of dust emissions

New field measurement techniques are allowing researchers to better understand how surficial properties affect the temporal and spatial variability of dust emissions. In this paper we review the current understanding of the dust emission process and present new field measurements that examine how three surface properties： roughness, crust strength, and temporal changes of surface properties affect dust emissions. These data were collected using three unique measurement systems developed by our team. Roughness exerts considerable control on the entrainment threshold and emissions of dust from a surface. We have carried out a series of experiments designed to quantify roughness effects on aeolian sediment entrainment and transport in a shear stress partitioning framework. Our results show that the model of Raupach et al. （1993） provides very good agreement with available data to predict the amount of shearing stress on the intervening surface among roughness elements, relatively independent of their size and distribution. However, element size affects the aeolian sediment transport process beyond that attributable only to the reduction of surface shear stress caused by the roughness. Additional interactions of the elements with the saltation cloud appear to reduce the transport efficiency and potentially dust emissions as well. The effect of crust strength on dust emissions was assessed using a newly-developed pin penetrometer, which can measure crust strength in-situ. Previous researchers suggested that variation in crust strength even within a small area could lead to considerable spatial variability in dust emissions. Our measurements showed that crust strength is highly variable over a scale of centimeters. This variability may help to explain some of the observed scatter in field measurements of dust emissions for what appear to be homogeneous surfaces. Variability of dust emissions in time and space was also evaluated using a new instrument, the Portable In-Situ Wind Erosion Lab （PI-SWERL） developed to measure dust emissions from soil surfaces.     

Naturally acidic and metalliferous waters at unmined volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits in the Bonnifield mining district, Alaska Range, east-central Alaska

The Bonnifield district hosts 26 tmmined volcanogenic massive sulfide （VMS） occurrences. Environmental geochemical samples of water and stream sediment were collected at several occurrences, concentrating on the two best-exposed and largest deposits, Red Mountain （RM） and Sheep Creek （SC）. Limited samples were also collected at the poorly exposed WTF deposit. The deposits are Late Devonian to Early Mississippian, and are hosted by felsic metavolcanic and carbonaceous schist members of the Totatlanika Schist or Keevy Peak Fm. Spring and stream waters at RM and SC have pH values commonly 〈3.5 （as low as 2.4 at RM and 2.5 at SC）, high conductivity （up to 11000 μS/cm）, and very high （Is to 100s mg/L） dissolved contents of Al, Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Ni, and Pb. Waters at RM are characterized by extremely high REE contents （summed REE median 3200 μg/L, n=33）. At both RM and SC, pyrite oxidation and dissolution produce low pH waters that interact with and dissolve bedrock minerals, resulting in acidic, metal-laden, naturally degraded streams that are mostly devoid of aquatic life. Ferricrete is common. In contrast, WTF barely produces a surficial environmental footprint, mostly due to topography and relief. RM and SC are well exposed in the areas of relatively high relief, and both exhibit extensive areas of quartz-sericite-pyrite-alteration. While WTF shares many of the same deposit-and alteration characteristics, it is concealed by tundra in a large, nearly flat area. Surface water at WTF is absent and outcrops are sparse. Even though WTF is roughly the same size as Red Mountain （both around 3 million tonnes） and has similar base- and precious-metal grades, the surficial geochemical manifestation of WTF is minimal. However, exposure through mining of the altered, mineralized rock at WTF potentially could initiate the same processes of pyrite oxidation, acid generation, and mineral dissolution that are observed naturally at RM and SC.     

电离层水平不均匀性对无线电掩星资料反演的影响

电离层水平不均匀结构是引起掩星资料反演的主要误差源.本文模拟不均匀结构对无线电掩星资料反演的影响.首先利用3-D全球射线追踪技术进行了模拟.结果指出:电离层电子密度20%的变化可能引起GPS的时延增加约12m.其次,将90%的掩星时延对应的路径长度,定义为电离层掩星测量的水平分辨率,其值为1200-2000 km.最后,计算了不同纬度电离层当地正午、子夜和日出时的电离层水平不对称指数.它表明:低纬夏季日出时,不对称指数达-78%,反演结果可能有较大误差.     

西加拿大盆地彩虹地区中泥盆统生物礁油藏的地球化学特征及其石油地质意义

彩虹地区存在两类烃源岩，一类形成于深水高盐蒸发环境，另一类形成于较浅水碳酸盐环境。采用多元统计方法对本区来自不同油蘸的26个油样的地球化学特征进行分析，并研究其空间变化规律及其与地质控制因素的关系。研究结果表明该地区油样成分特征和空间展布的两分性明显。油样成分两分主要是由于母源的差别所致。而油气特征在空间上的两分则可能反映盆地演化过程中构造作用对沉积环境和礁体空间展布的控制。礁间盐层的存在限制礁体间的横向连通性。石油就近聚集的结果导致在空间上原油特征沿袭了母岩的分布特点。     

泥盆纪最早期牙形刺带化石在蒙古南戈壁幕使盖(Mushgai)地区"尕屋(Gavuu)"段的首次发现

在蒙古南戈壁的Bayan—Khoshuu Ruins剖面原归入到志留系Mandalovoo组尕屋(Gavuu)段的地层中发现了牙形刺Caudicriodus woschimidti woschmidti，这是泥盆纪最早期牙形刺带化石在蒙古的首次发现。尕屋(Gavuu)段的下部属志留系，但其上部，即采集牙形刺样品M-9～M-12的层位肯定属下泥盆统(下洛霍考夫阶)，而不是下志留统。Mandalovoo组应当改为Mandalovoo群，它的三个段应提升为三个组。     

DEVELOPMENT OF A DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR MANAGING PESTICIDE LOSSES IN AGRICULTURAL WATERSHEDS

1 INTRODUCTION Agricultural use of pesticides has been recognized as one of the important non-point pollution sources in the world, and the pesticide application to agricultural lands has led to large amounts of residues discharged into surface water through runoff (Leonard, 1990). There have been growing concerns about the fate and transport of pesticides in agricultural lands, due to the associated adverse impacts on water environment and human health (Agassi et al., 1995; Ng and Clegg…     

美国地质、地球物理和海洋学家的现状调研

1　工作特点美国的地质学、地球物理学和海洋学家们利用他们所掌握的科学知识 (地球物理、地质和历史等方面的知识 )来确定水资源、矿产资源和能源等的状况 ,围绕如何保护环境 ,预测未来地质灾害 ,利用土地资源等问题开展工作。他们利用先进的仪器对地球和水资源进行分析研究。地质学家 ,同时也包括地球物理学家们研究地球的过去、现在和未来。例如他们研究地球运动 ,试图预报地震与火山会在何时何地发生 ,以及它们对周围地区的影响。虽然地质学、地球物理学、海洋学领域密切相关 ,但也有很大的不同。地质学家研究地球的构成、过程和历史。…     

航空重力确定大地水准面的研究

随着近年来航空重力的发展,航空重力数据的精度和分辨率不断提高,其精度可达1 mGal,分辨率可达10km,这使得用航空重力数据计算精密大地水准面成为可能。本研究介绍利用满足一定条件的稳定、精确的航空重力数据计算大地水准面的一种新途径。它根据布隆公式,分离大地水准面与参考椭球,把航空重力观测值转换为大地水准面上的重力位,从而确定大地水准面。其具体步骤如下: 1.对重力扰动观测数据进行低通滤波,除去高频观测噪声; 2.利用全球重力场模型从低通滤波的重力