Spatial and temporal variability in the concentration and speciation of metals in suspended sediment transported by the River Aire,Yorkshire, UK

In recent years, there has been an increasing awareness of the important role of fine sediment in the transport and storage of metals in fluvial systems. However, there has been little research on the behaviour of contaminated sediment in industrial rivers in the UK. This paper examines spatial and temporal variations in the concentration and speciation of lead, copper and chromium associated with suspended sediment in the River Aire in Yorkshire, UK. An increase in the total concentration of all three metals in sediment was identified in the lower reaches, which reflected inputs of road dust, sewage and industrial effluents. Spatial variations in the chemical speciation of the metals were also identified. The iron–manganese oxides and organic fractions were the most significant for the adsorption of metals by sediment. Both the concentrations and speciation of sediment‐associated metals exhibited substantial temporal variation. Such variation reflected the accumulation of metals and organic matter on the river‐bed during low flows, the subsequent remobilization of the sediment at high flows and the additional supply of sediment from uncontaminated and contaminated sources, including pulse inputs of road dust, sewage and industrial effluent. The findings presented have important implications for the development of effective catchment management strategies for the control of point‐ and diffuse‐source pollution. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Thallium Mass Fraction and Stable Isotope Ratios of Sixteen Geological Reference Materials

Thallium stable isotope ratio and mass fraction measurements were performed on sixteen geological reference materials spanning three orders of magnitude in thallium mass fraction, including both whole rock and partially separated mineral powders. For stable isotope ratio measurements, a minimum of three independent digestions of each reference material was obtained. High‐precision trace element measurements (including Tl) were also performed for the majority of these RMs. The range of Tl mass fractions represented is 10 ng g^?1 to 16 μg g^?1, and Tl stable isotope ratios (reported for historical reasons as ε²⁰⁵Tl relative to NIST SRM 997) span the range ?4 to +2. With the exception – attributed to between‐bottle heterogeneity – of G‐2, the majority of data are in good agreement with published or certified values, where available. The precision of mean of independent measurement results between independent dissolutions suggests that, for the majority of materials analysed, a minimum digested mass of 100 mg is recommended to mitigate the impact of small‐scale powder heterogeneity. Of the sixteen materials analysed, we therefore recommend for use as Tl reference materials the USGS materials BCR‐2, COQ‐1, GSP‐2 and STM‐1; CRPG materials AL‐I, AN‐G, FK‐N, ISH‐G, MDO‐G, Mica‐Fe, Mica‐Mg and UB‐N; NIST SRM 607 and OREAS14P.     

Rock-magnetic properties of topsoils and urban dust from Morelia (>800,000 inhabitants), Mexico: Implications for anthropogenic pollution monitoring in Mexico’s medium size cities

In this work, we investigate the correlation between some magnetic parameters and the level of contamination by heavy metals in urban soils from Morelia city, western Mexico. The magnetic study was carried out on 98 urban soils samples belonging to distinct land uses. Most of analyzed samples contain ferrimagnetic minerals as the responsible for magnetization, most probably corresponding to the titanomagnetites/ titanomaghemites solid solutions. This is inferred from the susceptibility vs. temperature measurements and the isothermal remanent magnetization (IRM) experiments. These measurements also indicate that most of samples are almost completely saturated before 300 mT. Additionally, the S_-200 values (S_-200 = IRM_-200/ SIRM, where IRM_-200= Back-field of 200 mT after magnetic saturation) are between 0.7 and 1.0, characteristic of low coercivity magnetic minerals. The averaged saturation isothermal remanent magnetization (SIRM) curves can be used as an indicator of pollution level, as these curves show different saturation values according to the level of contamination by heavy metals: Cu, Ni, Cr and Sr. These associations of (titano)magnetite with heavy metals were observed by Scanning Electron Microscope revealing some complex aggregates rather than commonly detected spherules.     

The tectono-sedimentary evolution of a hyper-extended rift basin: the example of the Arzacq–Mauléon rift system (Western Pyrenees,SW France)

In this paper, we present a sedimentary and structural analysis that together with maps, sections and new Ar/Ar data enable to describe the tectono-sedimentary evolution of the Mauléon hyper-extended rift basin exposed in the W-Pyrenees. Hyper-extension processes that ultimately resulted in exhuming mantle rocks are the result of the subsequent development of two diachronous detachment systems related to two evolutional stages of rifting. An initial Late Aptian Early Albian crustal thinning phase is first recorded by the development of a crustal necking zone controlled by the north-vergent Southern Mauléon Detachment system. During a subsequent exhumation phase, active faulting migrates to the north with the emplacement of the Northern Mauléon detachment system that exhumed north section thinned continental crust and mantle rocks. This diachronous crustal thinning and exhumation processes are also recorded by the diachronous deposition of syn-tectonic sedimentary tracts above the two supra-detachment sub-basins. Syn-tectonic sedimentary tracts record the progressive exhumation of footwall rocks along detachment systems. Tectonic migration from the southern to the northern Mauléon Detachment system is recorded by the coeval deposition of “sag” deposits above the necking zone basin and of syn-tectonic tracts above exhumed rocks north section. Located on a hanging-wall situation related to the Mauléon hyper-extension structures, the Arzacq Basin also records a major crustal thinning phase as shown by its subsidence evolution so as by deep seismic images. The absence of major top-basement structures and its overall sag morphology suggest that crustal thinning processes occurred by decoupled extension of lower crustal levels contrasting with the Southern Mauléon Detachment system. Reconciling observations from the Mauléon and Arzacq Basins, we finally propose in this paper that they were the result of one and the same asymmetric crustal thinning and exhumation processes, where extension is accommodated into the upper crust in the Mauléon Basin (lower plate basin) and relayed in ductile lower crust below the Arzacq Basin (upper plate basin).     

Ceres - Neither a porous nor salty ball

This study explores the geophysical implications of two compositional models recently proposed for Ceres, which assume that the dwarf planet is a homogeneous mixture of chondritic material devoid with free water. In order to reproduce Ceres’ density, the rock density has to be offset by the presence of porosity and/or an abundance of hydrated salts resulting from the extensive hydration and oxidation of the chondritic material. Thermal modeling shows that a mixture of hydrated minerals is bound to compact and partly dehydrate as a consequence of long-lived radioisotope decay heat. The resulting interior structure is differentiated in a silicate-rich core and water-rich shell, with little porosity. Hence, this study confirms previous suggestion that Ceres contains a large fraction of free water.     

Near-infrared spectroscopy of primitive asteroid families

We compare 13 near-infrared (0.8-2.4 μm) spectra of two low albedo C complex outer-belt asteroid families: Themis and Veritas. The disruption ages of these two families lie at opposite extremes: 2.5 ± 1.0 Gyr and 8.7 ± 1.7 Myr, respectively. We found striking differences between the two families, which show a range of spectral shapes and slopes. The seven Themis family members (older surfaces) have “red” (positive) slopes in the 1.6-2.4 μm region; in contrast, the six Veritas members (younger surfaces) have significantly “flatter” slopes at these same wavelengths. Moreover, the two families are characterized by different concavity at shorter (1.0-1.5 μm) wavelengths with the Themis group being consistently flat or concave up (smile) and the Veritas group being consistently concave down (frown). Each family contains a broad range of diameters, suggesting our results are not due to comparisons of asteroids of different sizes. The statistically significant clustering of the two spectral groups could be explained by one of the following three possibilities or a combination of them: (1) space weathering effects, (2) differences in original composition, or (3) differences in thermal history perhaps as a result of the difference in parent body sizes. As a result of our analyses, we propose a new method to quantify broad and shallow structures in the spectra of primitive asteroids. We found reasonable matches between the observed asteroids and individual carbonaceous chondrite meteorites. Because these meteoritic fits represent fresh surfaces, space weathering is neither necessary nor ruled out as an explanation of spectral differences between families. The six Veritas family near-infrared (NIR) spectra represent the first NIR analysis of this family, thus significantly increasing our understanding of this family over these wavelengths.     

Water,heat, bombardment: The evolution and current state of (2) Pallas

Using recent constraints on the shape and density of (2) Pallas, we model the thermal evolution of the body as a function of possible formation scenarios that differ in the time of formation and composition assumed for the protoplanet. We develop possible evolution scenarios for Pallas and compare these to available observations. Our models imply two distinct types of end states: those with a hydrosphere and silicate core, and those where the body is dominated by hydrated silicates. We show that for an initial ice-rock mixture with density 2400 kg/m³, Pallas is likely to differentiate and form a rocky core and icy shell. If Pallas accreted from material with lower initial ice content, our models indicate that Pallas’s interior is dominated by hydrated silicates, possibly with a core of anhydrous silicates.We also investigate the possibility that Pallas’s initial density was similar to Ceres’, i.e., that it formed from an ice–rock mixture of density 2100 kg/m³. This implies that the object lost a significant fraction of its hydrosphere as a consequence of thermal oscillations and impacts, a distinct possibility given its density, evidence for impact excavation and current orbital parameters. Its blue spectral slope and observed surface variation may also be evidence for such a process (e.g. Jewitt, D.C. [2002]. Astron. J. 123, 1039–1049; Schmidt, B.E. et al. [2009]. Science 326, 275–279; Yang, B., Jewitt, D. [2010]. Astron. J. 140, 692–698). If Pallas still contains a thin layer of water ice, then that layer corresponds to the bottom of a former icy shell, and as such, could be enriched in non-ice materials such as organics. We evaluate the likeliness of each scenario and show the general magnitude of water loss processes for Pallas. Given a balance of observational and theoretical constraints, we favor a water-rich accretion for Pallas that implies that Pallas has lost a significant fraction of its initial water content through exogenic processes since its internal evolution ceased. We also discuss implications of this work to other hydrated asteroids.     

Using hyperspectral reflectance data to assess biocontrol damage of giant salvinia

Field hyperspectral reflectance data were studied at 50 wavebands (10-nm bandwidth) over the 400- to 900-nm spectral range to determine their potential for distinguishing among giant salvinia (Salvinia molesta Mitchell) plants subjected to four population levels of salvinia weevils (Cyrtobagous salviniae Calder and Sands) to develop feeding damage to the plants. The four populations included a control with no insects and those with low, medium and high insect populations. The plants were studied in two experiments on each of two dates: 14 October 2010 and 21 July 2011. Two procedures were used to determine the optimum bands for discriminating among treatments: least significant difference (LSD) and stepwise discriminant analysis. The LSD comparison test results for both October and July experiments showed that generally the best bands for separating among treatments occurred in the green (505–595 nm), red (605–635 nm), red-near-infrared (NIR; 695–745 nm) edge and NIR (755–895 nm) regions where three to four treatments could be distinguished. Stepwise discriminant analysis identified four bands in the green, red and red-NIR edge to be significant to discriminate among the four treatments in Experiment 1 in October. For Experiment 2 in October, discriminant analysis identified five bands in the blue, green, red and NIR regions to be significant for distinguishing among the treatments. In Experiment 1 in July, five bands in the blue, green, red-NIR edge and NIR regions were found to be significant to discriminate among the treatments. For Experiment 2 in July, discriminant analysis identified four bands in the blue, green and red-NIR edge regions to be significant to discriminate among the treatments.