Recent climatic trends and linkages to river discharge in Central Vietnam

In this study, change in rainfall, temperature and river discharge are analysed over the last three decades in Central Vietnam. Trends and rainfall indices are evaluated using non‐parametric tests at different temporal levels. To overcome the sparse locally available network, the high resolution APHRODITE gridded dataset is used in addition to the existing rain gauges. Finally, existing linkages between discharge changes and trends in rainfall and temperature are explored. Results are indicative of an intensification of rainfall (+15%/decade), with more extreme and longer events. A significant increase in winter rainfall and a decrease in consecutive dry days provides strong evidence for a lengthening wet season in Central Vietnam. In addition, trends based on APHRODITE suggest a strong orographic signal in winter and annual trends. These results underline the local variability in the impacts of climatic change at the global scale. Consequently, it is important that change detection investigations are conducted at the local scale. A very weak signal is detected in the trend of minimum temperature (+0.2°C/decade). River discharge trends show an increase in mean discharge (31 to 35%/decade) over the last decades. Between 54 and 74% of this increase is explained by the increase in precipitation. The maximum discharge also responds significantly to precipitation changes leading to a lengthened wet season and an increase in extreme rainfall events. Such trends can be linked with a likely increase in floods in Central Vietnam, which is important for future adaptation planning and management and flood preparedness in the region. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Monitoring and volumetric estimation of injected CO2 using 4D seismic,petrophysical data,core measurements and well logging: a case study at Ketzin,Germany

More than 50 000 tons of CO₂ have been injected at Ketzin into the Stuttgart Formation, a saline aquifer, at approximately 620 m depth, as of summer 2011. We present here results from the 1^st repeat 3D seismic survey that was performed at the site in autumn 2009, after about 22 000 tons of CO₂ had been injected. We show here that rather complex time‐lapse signatures of this CO₂ can be clearly observed within a radius of about 300 m from the injection well. The highly irregular amplitude response within this radius is attributed to the heterogeneity of the injection reservoir. Time delays to a reflection below the injection level are also observed. Petrophysical measurements on core samples and geophysical logging of CO₂ saturation levels allow an estimate of the total amount of CO₂ visible in the seismic data to be made. These estimates are somewhat lower than the actual amount of CO₂ injected at the time of the survey and they are dependent upon the choice of a number of parameters. In spite of some uncertainty, the close agreement between the amount injected and the amount observed is encouraging for quantitative monitoring of a CO₂ storage site using seismic methods.     

History of anthropogenic nitrogen input to the German Bight/SE North Sea as reflected by nitrogen isotopes in surface sediments,sediment cores and hindcast models

The German Bight/SE North Sea is considered a hot-spot of river-induced eutrophication, but the scarce observational data of river nitrate loads prior to the 1970s complicate the assessment of target conditions for environmental management and legislation. Stable nitrogen isotope ratios (δ¹⁵N) in sediment records can be used to decipher historical river nitrate contributions. To better constrain pre-1970s conditions, we determined δ¹⁵N in archive sediment samples (1950–1969) and dated cores from the Helgoland depositional area. We also modeled the δ¹⁵N in past situations (1960 and 1860) using an N-isotope-tracking ecosystem model. The modeled spatial distribution of δ¹⁵N in sediments for 1960 conditions and the observed spatial pattern of δ¹⁵N in archive sediment samples (1950–1969) represent a period of moderate eutrophication. The modeled spatial distribution of δ¹⁵N in sediments for 1860 conditions (pre-industrial) showed a moderate δ¹⁵N gradient from the Elbe river mouth (δ¹⁵N<4‰) to the open sea (δ¹⁵N∼5‰). This pattern contrasts with the δ¹⁵N pattern in modern surface sediments, which exhibits a steep and inverted δ¹⁵N gradient from the Elbe river mouth (δ¹⁵N>9‰) to the open sea (δ¹⁵N<7‰). Modeled δ¹⁵N for 1860 conditions are consistent with δ¹⁵N values observed in dated sediment cores that span the last 900 years. Value of δ¹⁵N in sediment cores increased from approximately 1860 to 2000 by 2.5‰. The increasing trend reflects changes in the abundance and isotopic composition of riverine nitrate loads caused by anthropogenic activities. Sensitivity tests suggest that loads and isotopic ratios of nitrogen forms other than nitrate (ammonium and organic nitrogen) have minor impact on the modeled surface sediments, despite their higher abundance in the riverborne loads in the past. Our results suggest that eutrophication of the German Bight predates the 1960 period of documented rapidly increasing river loads. Pre-industrial levels of δ¹⁵N modeled with 28% of the modern annual (1990–1999) atmospheric loads and 10% of the modern annual river loads agree best with levels of δ¹⁵N (∼6‰) observed in sediments of the cores dated to 1860.     

Characterizing anthropic sediments in north European Neolithic settlements: An assessment from Skara Brae,Orkney

The creation of anthropic sediments, traditionally referred to under the blanket term midden, through the utilization of settlement waste materials in domestic settlement construction was first recognized during early excavations at the Orcadian Neolithic site of Skara Brae (V.G. Childe, 1931a; 1931b). Prior to the present study there has been no systematic attempt to identify the nature of these sediments at Skara Brae, whose likely occupation dates between ˜3100 and 2500 B.C., or to assess whether different materials were incorporated into construction or varied with different phases of site formation. The opportunity to begin addressing these issues arose with the location of undisturbed sediment samples held in storage since the last site excavations of 1972–1973 (D.V. Clarke, 1976). Ten thin sections were manufactured from these samples, representing earlier and later phases of Neolithic settlement at Skara Brae. Observations using thin‐section micromorphology, supported by total phosphorus and particle‐size distribution analyses, suggest that both earlier and later settlement phases show accumulation of household waste dominated by fuel residues. These wastes may have been used to help stabilize wind‐blown sand deposits during the later settlement phases. In addition, the use of clay material tempered with household waste is associated with wall construction. Animal manures are only evident in anthropic deposits on the edge of the main settlement site where composting may have been taking place, and there is no evidence for their use in site construction. The authors conclude by drawing attention to possible diverse uses of anthropic sediments in settlement construction at other Neolithic settlements in Orkney. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The Donoso copper-rich,tourmaline-bearing breccia pipe in central Chile: petrologic,fluid inclusion and stable isotope evidence for an origin from magmatic fluids

The copper-rich, tourmaline-bearing Donoso breccia pipe is one among more than 15 different mineralized breccias in the giant (>50 million metric tonnes of copper) Miocene and Pliocene Río Blanco-Los Bronces copper deposit in the high Andes of central Chile. This breccia pipe, bracketed in age between 5.2 and 4.9 Ma, has dimensions of 500 by 700 m at the current surface 3,670 m above sea level. Its roots have yet to be encountered, and it is >300 m in diameter at the depth of the deepest drill holes. The Donoso breccia is, for the most part, monolithic, containing clasts of the equigranular quartz monzonite pluton which hosts the pipe. It is matrix supported, with between 5 and 25% of the total rock volume consisting of breccia-matrix minerals, which include tourmaline, quartz, chalcopyrite, pyrite, specularite, and lesser amounts of bornite and anhydrite. An open pit mine, centered on this breccia pipe, has a current production of 50,000 tonnes of ore per day at an average grade of 1.2% copper, and copper grade in the breccia matrix is significantly higher. Measured '¹⁸O for tourmaline and quartz from the matrix of the Donoso breccia at different levels of the pipe range from +6.9 to +12.0‰, and measured 'D in tourmaline ranges from -73 to -95‰. Temperatures of crystallization of these minerals, as determined by the highest homogenization temperatures of highly saline fluid inclusions, range from 400 to >690°C. When corrected for these temperatures, the stable isotope data indicate that fluids from which these breccia-matrix minerals precipitated were magmatic, with '¹⁸O between +5.6 to +9.1‰ and 'D between -51 to -80‰. These isotopic data preclude participation of a significant amount of meteoric water in the formation of the Donoso breccia. They support a model in which brecciation is caused by expansion of magmatic fluids exsolved from a cooling pluton, and breccia-matrix minerals, including copper sulfides, precipitated from the same magmatic fluids responsible for brecciation. Sericitic alteration of clasts in the breccia was also caused by these magmatic fluids. Different types of fluid inclusions imply that several different magmatic fluids were involved in formation of the Donoso breccia. These include high-temperature, highly saline, non-boiling fluids, trapped in inclusions that homogenize by halite dissolution, which probably exsolved from a magma cooling under relatively high (>1 kbar) lithostatic pressure conditions, consistent with geologic constraints. Other high-temperature, highly saline fluids are trapped in inclusions that homogenize by vapor-bubble disappearance and are spatially associated with vapor-rich inclusions, suggesting either phase separation (boiling) or simultaneous separation of immiscible brine and vapor from a magma cooling at lower hydrostatic pressure conditions. Both types of high-temperature, highly saline fluids circulated intermittently, as pressure fluctuated between lithostatic and hydrostatic conditions because of episodes of sealing and rebrecciation.     

Formation enthalpy of ThSiO4 and enthalpy of the thorite → huttonite phase transition

The standard enthalpy of formation of thorite and huttonite and the enthalpy of the phase transition between these polymorphs were determined using high-temperature oxide melt solution calorimetry and transposed temperature drop calorimetry. Standard enthalpies of formation of thorite and huttonite are reported for the first time and are −2117.6 ± 4.2 kJ/mol and −2110.9 ± 4.7 kJ/mol, respectively. Based on our measurements, thorite and huttonite are metastable relative to SiO₂ (quartz) and ThO₂ (thorianite) at standard conditions, but are presumably stabilized at high temperature by the entropy contribution. Based on the measured enthalpy of the thorite-huttonite phase transition of 6.7 ± 2.5 kJ/mol, a dP/dT slope for the transformation was calculated as −1.21 ± 0.45 MPa/K.     

Removal of selected heavy metals from MSW fly ash by the electrodialytic process

This paper aims to assess the applicability of the electrodialytic remediation technique for the removal of zinc, lead, copper and cadmium from municipal solid waste (MSW) incinerator fly ash. A broad range of experimental conditions were studied including current densities, remediation times, use of assisting agents and cell design.

Several operational problems were identified during the electrodialytic experiments, among which are formation of precipitates, dryness of sample and partial dissolution of sample creating preferential pathways for the electric current. These problems may explain the low remediation efficiencies obtained.

Comparison between experiments showed that generally the use of Na-gluconate as assisting agent leads to better results than distilled water. Increasing the concentration of the assisting agent also results in higher removals.