Measurement of soluble reactive phosphorus concentration profiles and fluxes in river-bed sediments using DET gel probes

DET (diffusive equilibrium in thin films) gel probes were used for sampling river-bed sediment porewaters, to characterise in situ soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) concentration profiles and fluxes. DET probes were deployed in three contrasting rural streams: (1) a headwater ‘pristine’ stream, with minimal P inputs from low intensity grassland and no point sources, (2) an intensively cultivated arable catchment, and (3) a stream subject to high P loadings from sewage effluent and intensive arable farming. The DET results showed highly enriched porewater SRP concentrations of between ca. 400 and 5000 μg-P l⁻¹ in the sewage-impacted stream. In contrast, the arable and pristine streams had porewater SRP concentrations <70 μg-P l⁻¹ and <20 μg-P l⁻¹, respectively. Porewater SRP concentration profiles in both the sewage-impacted and arable-impacted streams showed well-defined vertical structure, indicating internal sources and sinks of SRP within the sediment. However, there was little variability in porewater SRP concentrations in the pristine stream. The DET porewater profiles indicated net diffusion of SRP (a) from the overlying river water into the surface sediment and (b) from subsurface sediment upwards towards the sediment–water interface. A mass balance for the sewage-impacted site showed that the influx of SRP into the surface sediments from the overlying river water was small (ca. 1% of the daily river SRP load). The DET results indicated that, in the arable and sewage-impacted streams, the surface ‘cap’ of fine sediment may play an important role in inhibiting upward movement of SRP from subsurface porewaters into the overlying river water, under steady-state, low-flow conditions.     

Blood metal levels and metal-influenced immune functions of harbour seals in captivity

Immunological blood parameters and the effects of environmental pollutants on the immune system are important to assess the health status of seals. Animals living permanently in seal centres are useful for development and validation of diagnostic tools for free-ranging animals. In this study, parameters of cellular immunity as well as metal concentrations in blood and metal influence on cell proliferation of seven seals from a seal centre were investigated repeatedly using multi-element analysis and a lymphocyte proliferation assay. The metal concentrations, except for tin and chromium, were in general comparable to those of free-ranging animals of the North Sea. The unstimulated and mitogen-stimulated lymphocyte proliferation showed strong intra- and inter-individual variability, which reflected variability in activation of the immune status. Furthermore, both immunosuppressive and stimulative influences of metals on lymphocytes were found. Summarising, the methods used in this investigation provided useful information on these animals, and their application to free-ranging animals can be recommended.     

A local model for analysis of pump and treat systems with vertical barrier walls

We present a mathematical model of local, steady groundwater flow near a vertical barrier wall. Flow features represented in the model include an impermeable arc-shaped barrier wall and multiple wells; distant boundary conditions are not included explicitly, but their effects on the local flow field are modelled by specifying a uniform flow at infinity and a constant areal recharge within a local domain. We develop an explicit closed-form solution to the boundary-value problem using the analytic element method. The solution is an extension of a harmonic solution presented by Anderson and Mesa [Anderson EI, Mesa E. The effects of vertical barrier walls on the hydraulic control of contaminated groundwater. Adv Water Resourc 2006;29(1):89–98] which does not include the effects of recharge. We demonstrate that the general solution with recharge consists of the harmonic solution superposed on a special case of the harmonic solution along with two elementary one-dimensional flow solutions. The results are used to investigate the effects of areal recharge on the capture zone envelopes of the pumping wells and on the reduction in discharge that can be achieved by including a barrier wall in a pump and treat design. We find that the benefits of including an open barrier wall in a design, measured as a reduction in the pumping rate required to contain a plume, increase for higher recharge rates. Dimensionless plots of capture zone envelopes are presented for a practical well and barrier wall configuration.     

Institutional power-geometries: enduring and shifting work relations in cleansing depots

Institutions are objects of study that raise questions about the relationship between continuity and change. Employment is changing and for this reason it presents an opportunity to explore how it is that paid work might be thought of as an institutional ‘space’ that is made up of enduring and shifting power relations. This paper views institutions through a lens of ‘power-geometries’, that is, as complex webs of relations of domination and subordination (Massey, D., 1992. New Left Review 196, 65–84). The paper illustrates these power-geometries by exploring employment in local authority cleansing depots in South East England. I concentrate on how the inequity of employment relations enables the institutionalisation of work practices. Employment relations were found to have shifted to different degrees according to the particular geographies and histories of labour markets, employer strategies, local politics and worker solidarities. Despite these variations the asymmetry of employment relations is seen to have endured. I conclude by arguing that whilst power-geometries are not fixed, when ‘institutionalised’ they are not easily changed during ‘everyday’ interaction.     

Holocene Foraminifera as Indicators of Relative Estuarine–Lagoonal and Oceanic Influences in Estuarine Sediments of the River Murray, South Australia: Volume 53, Number 3 (2000), pages 378–391

In southeastern South Australia, the River Murray debouches through a coastal barrier separating euryhaline estuarine-lagoonal waters from the Southern Ocean. Depending upon the relative freshwater outflow of the river and ingress of the ocean, water salinity varies greatly within the lower estuary. Ammonia beccarii and Elphidium articulatum are euryhaline species of foraminifera that characterize the estuary and back-barrier Coorong Lagoon. The inner-shelf marine environment hosts an assemblage in which Discorbis dimidiatus, E. crispum, E. macelliforme, and various cibicidid species predominate. In cored sediments recovered from the shallow lower estuary, the relative abundance of A. beccarii + E. articulatum was compared with that of D. dimidiatus + E. crispum + E. macelliforme + other species. These data, and AMS radiocarbon ages determined for foraminifera and ostracods, provide evidence of a change from maximum oceanic influence (5255 ± 60 yr B.P.) to maximum estuarine influence (3605 ± 70 yr B.P.). Over this same time interval, sea level fell relatively by about 2 m. However, the event was also contemporaneous with falling water levels in several Victorian lakes, and it is thus attributed to onset of climatic aridity. Reduced precipitation in the River Murray catchment and reduced freshwater outflow enhanced development of the flood-tide delta and constriction of the mouth.     

The Geographer and the Fengshui Practitioner: So close and yet so far apart?

Fengshui deserves serious scrutiny from geographers. Fengshui has been a highly significant influence on the shaping of human environments in the Chinese cultural sphere for at least 4000 years. Efforts to eliminate it in the twentieth century, by Chinese governments intent on modernisation, have failed. Advice on fengshui is still eagerly sought today by families and businesses in Chinese communities, whether on the mainland, offshore or overseas. The first part of this paper briefly introduces fengshui . The second part applies Lefebvre's three modalities of space to the time-space manipulations and outcomes of the operation of fengshui . The third part explores what fengshui offers a postmodern world, concentrating on (a) the nature of the 'harmony' it seeks to establish between people and nature; (b) the nature of fengshui 's time-universe; and (c) the extent to which fengshui 's goals of time-space harmony offer a framework for approaching sustainable development.     

Reforestation Programs in Southwest China： Reported Success, Observed Failure, and the Reasons Why

Ever since the disastrous floods of 1998, the Chinese government has used the Natural Forest Protection and Sloping Land Conversion Programs to promote afforestation and reforestation as means to reduce runoff, control erosion, and stabilize local livelihoods. These two ambitious programs have been reported as large-scale successes, contributing to an overall increase in China’s forest cover and to the stated goals of environmental stabilization. A small-scale field study at the project level of the implementation of these two programs in Baiwu Township, Yanyuan County, Sichuan, casts doubt upon the accuracy and reliability of these claims of success; ground observations revealed utter failure in some sites and only marginal success in others. Reasons for this discrepancy are posited as involving ecological, economic, and bureaucratic factors. Further research is suggested to determine whether these discrepancies are merely local aberrations or represent larger-scale failures in reforestation programs.     

低温绿泥石成分温度计Fe/(Fe+Mg)校正的必要性问题

绿泥石是沉积岩、低级变质岩和水热蚀变岩中的常见矿物,基于四次配位Al含量的绿泥石成分温度计是确定古成岩或变质温度的最主要的手段之一。介绍了四种应用最为广泛的绿泥石成分温度计的原理,并从离子替代规律和比较研究的角度着重讨论了近年来关于绿泥石成分温度计校正的必要性。研究表明,在铝饱和的条件下,根据绿泥石中的Fe/(Fe Mg)值对绿泥石温度计进行校正并不能使计算值与实际值更为接近,而且从晶体化学的角度看,全岩的Fe/(Fe Mg)主要影响的是绿泥石中六次配位Fe与Mg的占位,而且偶合置换(Si4 )Ⅳ(Mg2 )Ⅵ—(Al3 )Ⅳ(Al3 )Ⅵ和(Si4 )Ⅳ(Fe2 )Ⅵ—(Al3 )Ⅳ(Al3 )Ⅵ共同控制着四次配位Al的占位。所以在铝饱和的岩石体系中可不必进行Fe/(Fe Mg)值的校正。     

Sources and distribution of terrigenous organic matter delivered by the Atchafalaya River to sediments in the northern Gulf of Mexico

Suspended sediments (SS) from the Atchafalaya River (AR) and the Mississippi River and surficial sediment samples from seven shallow cross-shelf transects west of the AR in the northern Gulf of Mexico were examined using elemental (%OC, C/N), isotopic (δ¹³C, Δ¹⁴C), and terrigenous biomarker analyses. The organic matter (OM) delivered by the AR is isotopically enriched (∼−24.5‰) and relatively degraded, suggesting that soil-derived OM with a C4 signature is the predominant OM source for these SS. The shelf sediments display OC values that generally decrease seaward within each transect and westward, parallel to the coastline. A strong terrigenous C/N (29) signal is observed in sediments deposited close to the mouth of the river, but values along the remainder of the shelf fall within a narrow range (8-13), with no apparent offshore trends. Depleted stable carbon isotope (δ¹³C) values typical of C3 plant debris (−27‰) are found near the river mouth and become more enriched (−22 to −21‰) offshore. The spatial distribution of lignin in shelf sediments mirrors that of OC, with high lignin yields found inshore relative to that found offshore (water depth > 10 m).The isotopic and biomarker data indicate that at least two types of terrigenous OM are deposited within the study area. Relatively undegraded, C3 plant debris is deposited close to the mouth of the AR, whereas more degraded, isotopically enriched, soil-derived OM appears to be deposited along the remainder of the shelf. An important input from marine carbon is found at the stations offshore from the 10-m isobath. Quantification of the terrigenous component of sedimentary OM is complicated by the heterogeneous composition of the terrigenous end-member. A three-end-member mixing model is therefore required to more accurately evaluate the sources of OM deposited in the study area. The results of the mixing calculation indicate that terrigenous OM (soil-derived OM and vascular plant debris) accounts for ∼79% of the OM deposited as inshore sediments and 66% of OM deposited as offshore sediments. Importantly, the abundance of terrigenous OM is 40% higher in inshore sediments and nearly 85% higher in offshore sediments than indicated by a two-end-member mixing model. Such a result highlights the need to reevaluate the inputs and cycling of soil-derived OM in the coastal ocean.