Sulphate reducing bacteria to precipitate mercury after electrokinetic soil remediation

Combined treatment with electroremediation and sulphate reducing bacteria (SRB) was tested in laboratory and pilot scale. The contaminated soil came from a chlor-alkali factory and contained about 100 mg/kg Hg. Iodide/iodine complexing agent was used to mobilize mercury. Mercury iodide complexes were moved to the anode solution using an electric field. The anode solution was then mixed with hydrogen sulphide (H₂S) containing water, causing precipitation of mercury sulphide. The H²S was produced at site by a SRB reactor. Precipitation problems arising from the nature of the anode solution were expected, since this solution is highly acidic, very oxidised and may contain iodide/iodine that strongly complexes mercury and can hinder mercury sulphide precipitation. Mercury concentrations in the anode solution were up to 65.7 mg/L (field) and 15.4 mg/L (lab. scale). Reduction of mercury in the water was >93% at all times. Iodide did not hinder the process: Nonetheless, in the lab system, iodide concentration was high in the anode solution but mercury reduction was> 99.9%. The redox potential was sufficiently low for HgS precipitation during the experiments, except for a short period, when the mercury removal decreased to 94%. Sulphate reducing bacteria are shown as a viable tool for the treatment of mercury contaminated, acidic, oxidative, iodide containing water, such as that produced by electrokinetic remediation. A second SRB step or other water treatment is required to reduce the mercury concentration to environmentally acceptable levels. Redox potential is the most sensitive factor in the system.     

Rates and patterns of contemporary floodplain sedimentation: A case study of the river Culm,Devon, UK

A variety of methids have been used to document contemporary rates of overbank sedimentation along an 11 km reach of the floodplain of the River Culm in Devon, UK. These have included measurements of the conveyance loss of suspended sediment between upstream and downstream measuring stations, the use of sediment traps, and the application of caesium-137 measurements to estimate the rate of accumulation of fine sediment over the past 30 years. The resultant data point to sedimentation rates typically of the order of 1500 g m^–2 year^–1 or 1.5 mm year^–1. Values in excess of 15000 g m^–2 year^–1 or 15 mm year^–1 have been documented in closed depressions and in backwater embayments close to the channel, whereas minimal deposition and even scour may occur along those areas that function as secondary channels during floodplain inundation.     

Malaria reinfestation on the Northern Border of Argentina

Until 1950 malaria was a major public health hazard in Argentina affecting a large number of people in the northern territory. In that year a Malaria Eradication Programme began and this initiated a dramatic fall in incidence especially in the north east in subsequent years.In 1970 there was an increase in the incidence in the north west of the country. Than, in 1989 malaria was diagnosed along the northeastern border. The earlier outbreak was associated with the growth of border traffic and increasing immigration. Ecological changes consequent upon the building of large dams in the Paraná basin have been blamed for the outbreak in 1989.The reinfestation of malaria of northern Argentina is analysed, from the point of view of the trends in incidence during the period 1937–89 and especially the increase after 1970. Control measures are also proposed.     

Damage assessment through structural identification of a three‐story large‐scale precast concrete structure

This paper investigates the damage assessment of a three‐story half‐scale precast concrete building resembling a parking garage through structural identification. The structure was tested under earthquake‐type loading on the NEES large high‐performance outdoor shake table at the University of California San Diego in 2008. The tests provide a unique opportunity to capture the dynamic performance of precast concrete structures built under realistic boundary conditions. The effective modal parameters of the structure at different damage states have been identified from white‐noise and scaled earthquake test data with the assumption that the structure responded in a quasi‐linear manner. Modal identification has been performed using the deterministic‐stochastic subspace identification method based on the measured input–output data. The changes in the identified modal parameters are correlated to the observed damage. In general, the natural frequencies decrease, and the damping ratios increase as the structure is exposed to larger base excitations, indicating loss of stiffness, development/propagation of cracks, and failure in joint connections. The analysis of the modal rotations and curvatures allowed the localization of shear and flexural damages respectively and the checking of the effectiveness of repair actions. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An analysis of geomagnetic response functions prior to the Tohoku,Japan earthquake

Geomagnetic records from 20 Japanese observatories have been used to yield time series of response function (RF) components for 20 years at periods of between 2.5 and 60 min. Six observatories showed anomalous variations lasting 3–5 years in the short period part of the above range of periods prior to the March 11, 2011 Tohoku earthquake. The variations could have been intermediate-term precursors. We made a detailed analysis of how noise affects the results using coherence criteria, visual control, and the remote-reference technique. We clarified the conditions that make response functions dependent on geomagnetic activity. For 19 observatories we constructed the tensor of the anomalous magnetic field with Kakioka as the base site. An anomaly in electrical conductivity striking WNW–ESE has been identified beneath the Boso Peninsula near Tokyo in the conditions of strong noise. We sought to corroborate the reality of the anomaly by visual control and processing of nighttime records with minimum noise. We advanced idea that precursors can be monitored using the DC noise field in the presence of a shallow conductivity anomaly. We provided a tectonic interpretation of the obtained RF anomalies. The Boso conductivity anomaly is interpreted as being due to a graben-shaped structure of the sediments and possibly to a deeper plate-tectonics structure, that is, the Sagami Trough. We examine similarities and differences between the Boso anomaly and the Avacha anomaly in Kamchatka, and provided recommendations for further study of the Boso anomaly and for using the Avacha anomaly to monitor EM precursors in Kamchatka.