Concentration, isotopic composition, and sources of lead in Southern Ocean air during 1999/2000, measured at the Cape Grim Baseline Air Pollution Station, Tasmania

Southern Ocean aerosols were collected at the Cape Grim Baseline Air Pollution Station from onshore air under baseline conditions between February 1999 and April 2000. Thermal ionization techniques (TIMS) and isotope dilution mass spectrometry (IDMS) were used to measure the isotopic composition and concentration of lead in the air giving concentrations as low as 0.6 ± 0.1 pg · m⁻³. Air collected under baseline conditions for 12 months (May 1999-April 2000) yielded an overall lead concentration of 11.0 ± 0.2 pg · m⁻³ and isotopic composition of ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁷Pb = 1.154, ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁷Pb = 2.387 and ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 17.93. The range in isotopic ratios was consistent with the mixing of lead from major population centers in the Southern Hemisphere in the mid to high latitudes, except for the presence of highly radiogenic lead in some samples. Contributions from radiogenic lead of up to ∼0.8% were observed. Three periods with the highest percentage contribution of radiogenic lead (>0.5%) were investigated in more detail, and 4-d back-trajectories and radon concentrations were used to help identify the sources. The sources are probably associated with the mining and processing of uranium rich ores in southern Africa and possibly South Australia.     

WATER QUALITY STUDIES IN MALAYSIAN DISUSED MAN MADE LAKFS FOR SUITABILITY OF AN AQUACULTURE PROJECT

A study has been conducted on the status of water quality in two disused man made lakes, which have potential for cage aquaculture project. This study highlights the quality of water analyzed with reference to various physical - chemical parameters in two selected lakes and their suitability for fish farming. A number of parameters were measured including the amount of NH3 - N, NO3 - N, NO2 - N and total phosphorus while in - situ measurement including DO, pH, temperature, conductivity, TDS and Secchi disk visibility. Beside the physical -chemical of water, the location, morphometry and climate conditions were also investigated. The chemical data analyzed for six months indicated that Lake A and Lake B are characterized by relatively high DO, slightly neutral pH and low TSS. The concentration of NH3 -N and NO2 -N was very low （0. 058 mg/L and 0. 04 mg/L, respectively） and total phosphorus was usually in low concentration and sometimes would seem negligible. Besides, NO3 - N occurred in slightly higher concentration （1.75 mg/L）. Results obtained indicated that the study site has high potentiality for development of inland fisheries practices.     

松花江上游地区汞污染的化学生态效应

采样分析了吉林省东部松花江上游金矿开采区及其附近水、土壤、动植物及河流沉积物样品中汞的含量，发现河流沉积物中汞的污染相当严重；受其影响当地的植物和两栖类动物——中国林蛙体内总汞和甲基汞含量也明显高于对照组。实验表明，林蛙内脏对汞的富集能力大于肌肉；秋季对汞的富集大于春季；河流沉积物中甲基汞的含量与林蛙体内甲基汞的含量有较好的正相关。汞污染的来源与区域内个体金矿的滥采滥排有直接关系，表明人类活动所产生的有毒重金属在地表过程中出现了化学生态效应。     

Refined modeling and movement characteristics analyses of irregularly shaped particles

Irregularly shaped (IRS) particles widely exist in many engineering and industrial fields. The macro physical and mechanical properties of the particle system are governed by the interaction between the particles in the system. The interaction between IRS particles is more complicated because of their complex geometric shape with extremely irregular and co‐existed concave and convex surfaces. These particles may interlock each other, making the sliding and friction of IRS particles more complex than that of particles with regular shape. In order to study the interaction of IRS particles more efficiently, a refined method of constructing discrete element model based on computed tomography scanning of IRS particles is proposed. Three parameters were introduced to control the accuracy and the number of packing spheres. Subsequently, the inertia tensor of the IRS particle model was optimized. Finally, laboratory and numerical open bottom cylinder tests were carried out to verify the refined modeling method. The influence of particle shape, particle position, and mesoscopic friction coefficient on the interaction of particles was also simulated. It is noteworthy that with the increase of mesoscopic friction coefficient, the fluidity of IRS particle assembly decreases, and intermittent limit equilibrium state may appear. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mercury and methylmercury biogeochemistry in a thawing permafrost wetland complex,Northwest Territories,Canada

In arctic and sub‐arctic environments, mercury (Hg), more specifically toxic methylmercury (MeHg), is of growing concern to local communities because of its accumulation in fish. In these regions, there is particular interest in the potential mobilization of atmospherically deposited Hg sequestered in permafrost that is thawing at unprecedented rates. Permafrost thaw and the resulting ground surface subsidence transforms forested peat plateaus into treeless and permafrost‐free thermokarst wetlands where inorganic Hg released from the thawed permafrost and draining from the surrounding peat plateaus may be transformed to MeHg. This study begins to characterize the spatial distribution of MeHg in a peat plateau–thermokarst wetland complex, a feature that prevails throughout the wetland‐dominated southern margin of thawing discontinuous permafrost in Canada's Northwest Territories. We measured pore water total Hg, MeHg, dissolved organic matter characteristics and general water chemistry parameters to evaluate the role of permafrost thaw on the pattern of water chemistry. A gradient in vegetation composition, water chemistry and dissolved organic matter characteristics followed a toposequence from the ombrotrophic bogs near the crest of the complex to poor fens at its downslope margins. We found that pore waters in poor fens contained elevated levels of MeHg, and the water draining from these features had dissolved MeHg concentrations 4.5 to 14.5 times higher than the water draining from the bogs. It was determined through analysis of historical aerial images that the poor fens in the toposequence had formed relatively recently (early 1970s) as a result of permafrost thaw. Differences between the fens and bogs are likely to be a result of their differences in groundwater function, and this suggests that permafrost thaw in this landscape can result in hotspots for Hg methylation that are hydrologically connected to downstream ecosystems. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The lateglacial Quercus expansion in the southern European Alps: rapid vegetation response to a late Allerød climate warming?

A pollen‐inferred vegetation shift, from pioneer birch–pine woodland to mixed pine–summergreen oak forests, in the southern Alpine forelands, is commonly attributed to a centennial‐scale warming that occurred between the Gerzensee Oscillation (GO) and the Younger Dryas. Two microtephra layers bracketing the Younger Dryas onset (the Laacher See Tephra and the Vedde Ash) improve the chronology at Lago Piccolo di Avigliana (northern Italy) and allowed accurate correlation with Central European records where the GO is clearly detected. We used pollen percentages, pollen accumulation rates (PARs) and plant macrofossils to assess the population dynamics of Quercus, and leaf‐cuticle analysis for a better taxonomic identification of Quercus. Our results indicate that the species that was locally present was probably Quercus robur. PARs suggest that the population expansion started as early as the Bølling and followed an exponential increase through time. We attribute this gradual shift to increasing summer temperatures and longer growing seasons which contrast with a gradually decreasing temperature trend as recorded in Greenland ice cores and in Central Europe. Breaks or set‐backs in the PAR record may indicate the biotic response to minor Lateglacial cooling events of different life‐history stages in the Quercus population. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Workplace environmental demands and energizers at two Kuwait oil companies

The Work Compatibility Improvement Framework was developed and used to assess the environmental and ergonomic work conditions at two oil companies in Kuwait: One is a government-owned company, while the other is a private subcontractor of the government-owned company. The work compatibility presents demand–energizer environmental factors that act upon the individuals in the workplace. The reliability coefficients were tested and considered good (0.752) and excellent (0.855) for two domain conditions environment and ergonomics, respectively. Results reveal that in all of the three regions of the government-owned company (north, southwest, east) the ‘overall’ compatibility data for the ‘environment’ is perceived to be poor. The ‘ergonomics’ compatibility data seem to be average in the southeast and west, while it is considered to be poor in the north. As for the private subcontractor, the perceived ‘environment’ is considered to be poor for two departments out of four (slickline and wellhead maintenance), while considered moderate for the remaining two (maintenance and crude/chemical handling). The ‘ergonomics’ compatibility is reported to be poor for crude/chemical handling and wellhead maintenance jobs; while the conditions seem to be moderate for the maintenance and slickline jobs. The major conclusion extracted from this study is that the oil sector organizations in Kuwait are not managed as ergo-environmental enterprises where there is disharmony in the ergonomics system, environmental system, and the ergo-environmental interface interaction. These gaps in the enterprise-wide systems have a significant impact on work productivity and the environment conditions.     

A new bounding surface model for thermal cyclic behaviour

To accurately predict soil volume changes under thermal cycles is of great importance for analysing the performance of many earth structures such as the energy pile and energy storage system. Most of the existing thermo‐mechanical models focus on soil behaviour under monotonic thermal loading only, and they are not able to capture soil volume changes under thermal cycles. In this study, a constitutive model is proposed to simulate volume changes of saturated soil subjected to cyclic heating and cooling. Two surfaces are defined and used: a bounding surface and a memory surface. The bounding surface and memory surface are mainly controlled by the preconsolidation pressure (a function of plastic volumetric strain) and the maximum stress experienced by the soil, respectively. Under thermal cycles, the distance of the two surfaces and plastic modulus increase with an accumulation of plastic strain. By adopting the double surface concept, a new elastoplastic model is derived from an existing single bounding surface thermo‐mechanical model. Comparisons between model predictions and experimental results reveal that the proposed model is able to capture soil volume changes under thermal cycles well. The plastic strain accumulates under thermal cycles, but at a decreasing rate, until stabilization. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.