Mercury fluxes between an impacted coastal lagoon and the Atlantic Ocean

The objective was to estimate the seasonal and inter-tidal variability of dissolved and particulate mercury fluxes between the Ria de Aveiro (Portugal) and the Atlantic Ocean. The mercury fluxes were estimated by means of a two-dimensional vertically integrated hydrodynamic model. Results showed that the particulate fraction plays an important role in the transport of mercury while the contribution of the seston fraction to the transport of mercury was always <0.5%. During spring tides, in summer, about 2% of mercury transported in seston was present in an organic form. The mass balance for the mercury fractions revealed that the mercury export to the Atlantic Ocean varied with season and tidal regime, mainly in terms of the relative importance of the dissolved and particulate fractions. An approximate range of values for the annual mass balance between 42 and 77 kg shows that the export of dissolved and particulate mercury makes little impact on the near shore region of the Atlantic Ocean and that the recovery of the lagoon from mercury contamination is likely to remain a long-term issue.     

Horizontal patterns of water temperature and salinity in an estuarine tidal channel: Ria de Aveiro

This work presents results from two complementary and interconnected approaches to study water temperature and salinity patterns in an estuarine tidal channel. This channel is one of the four main branches of the Ria de Aveiro, a shallow lagoon located in the Northwest coast of the Iberian Peninsula. Longitudinal and cross-sectional fields of water temperature and salinity were determined by spatial interpolation of field measurements. A numerical model (Mohid) was used in a 2D depth-integrated mode in order to compute water temperature and salinity patterns. The main purpose of this work was to determine the horizontal patterns of water temperature and salinity in the study area, evaluating the effects of the main forcing factors. The field results were depth-integrated and compared to numerical model results. These results obtained using extreme tidal and river runoff forcing, are also presented. The field results reveal that, when the river flow is weak, the tidal intrusion is the main forcing mechanism, generating saline and thermal fronts which migrate with the neap/spring tidal cycle. When the river flow increases, the influence of the freshwater extends almost as far as the mouth of the lagoon and vertical stratification is established. Results of numerical modelling reveal that the implemented model reproduces quite well the observed horizontal patterns. The model was also used to study the hydrology of the study area under extreme forcing conditions. When the model is forced with a low river flow (1 m³ s⁻¹) the results confirm that the hydrology is tidally dominated. When the model is forced with a high river flow (1,000 m³ s⁻¹) the hydrology is dominated by freshwater, as would be expected in such an area.     

The Alignment of the Mean Wind and Stress Vectors in the Unstable Surface Layer

A significant non-alignment between the mean horizontal wind vector and the stress vector was observed for turbulence measurements both above the water surface of a large lake, and over a land surface (soybean crop). Possible causes for this discrepancy such as flow distortion, averaging times and the procedure used for extracting the turbulent fluctuations (low-pass filtering and filter widths etc.), were dismissed after a detailed analysis. Minimum averaging times always less than 30 min were established by calculating ogives, and error bounds for the turbulent stresses were derived with three different approaches, based on integral time scales (first-crossing and lag-window estimates) and on a bootstrap technique. It was found that the mean absolute value of the angle between the mean wind and stress vectors is highly related to atmospheric stability, with the non-alignment increasing distinctively with increasing instability. Given a coordinate rotation that aligns the mean wind with the x direction, this behaviour can be explained by the growth of the relative error of the u–w component with instability. As a result, under more unstable conditions the u–w and the v–w components become of the same order of magnitude, and the local stress vector gives the impression of being non-aligned with the mean wind vector. The relative error of the v–w component is large enough to make it undistinguishable from zero throughout the range of stabilities. Therefore, the standard assumptions of Monin–Obukhov similarity theory hold: it is fair to assume that the v–w stress component is actually zero, and that the non-alignment is a purely statistical effect. An analysis of the dimensionless budgets of the u–w and the v–w components confirms this interpretation, with both shear and buoyant production of u–w decreasing with increasing instability. In the v–w budget, shear production is zero by definition, while buoyancy displays very low-intensity fluctuations around zero. As local free convection is approached, the turbulence becomes effectively axisymetrical, and a practical limit seems to exist beyond which it is not possible to measure the u-w component accurately.     

The economics of mining seabed manganese nodules: A case study of the Indian Ocean nodule field

Abstract

Because of ever-growing demand for strategic metals, the focus of the international community has fallen on deep sea manganese nodules occurring at a water depth of more than 4500?m. We present an economic appraisal and strategy for mining of nodules from the Indian Ocean Nodule Field- one of the four economically potential areas in the world oceans. In contrast to the prevailing perception of non-viability of nodule mining, our analysis indicates a fair degree of economic feasibility and commercial sustainability to mine the deep-sea manganese nodules.     

Probabilistic comparative analysis between design rules of a shallow foundation safety

ABSTRACT

A fact that is generally overlooked in many geotechnical uncertainty analyses is that input data of the model may be correlated. While this correlation may influence the system response, epistemic uncertainties i.e. lack of knowledge of this correlation appears as a risk factor. This paper discusses how a negative correlation between cohesion (c’) and friction angle (Ø’) with their associated uncertainties can influence both the bearing resistance of a shallow strip foundation footing and the estimation of its safety. A probabilistic approach that considers both the negative correlation and the uncertainty is used in this work as a reference. This method is compared to Eurocode 7 variants that do not for the correlation. These variants, resistance and material factoring methods appears to be more or less conservative depending on the negative correlation degree between (c’–Ø), their associated uncertainties and soil configurations. Finally, the proposed probabilistic comparison shows that the material factoring method is more conservative than the resistance one.     

Geochemistry and stable isotope constraints on high-temperature activity from sediment cores of the Saldanha hydrothermal field

The Saldanha hydrothermal field is hosted atop a mafic–ultramafic seamount, located at a non-transform offset on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Previous observations revealed a field where transparent low-temperature fluids discharge through centimeter-sized vents without the formation of chimney structures. We present geochemical and stable isotope (O and C) analyses from sediment samples collected at this field, both at and far from the vent area. Most sediments, including some directly adjacent to orifice vents, are pelagic oozes with only a weak hydrothermal overprinting. Hydrothermal precipitates are characterized by Fe–Mn oxyhydroxides and a minor amount of Cu–Zn sulphide minerals. However, one of the cores (SCD7) collected at the vent area shows a much stronger hydrothermal signature. This core is composed of a matrix of serpentine + talc ± chlorite with high porosity, where calcite + chalcopyrite + sphalerite/wurtzite ± pyrite–pyrrhotite were precipitated. In this core, metal enrichments, REE patterns, and the oxygen and carbon isotope composition of calcites indicate that mineralization must have occurred in the subsurface by high-temperature fluids, with minor mixing with seawater and with a significant magmatic contribution. Thus, while most samples confirm previous findings indicating that Saldanha hydrothermal fluid discharge is mainly diffuse and of low temperature, data from core SCD7 suggest that areas of high-temperature hydrothermal activity also occur, where temperatures of the fluids could reach > 260 °C and maximum temperatures of 330 °C. We suggest that fluids can flow through faults at the top of the mount and discharge in a more focused way through vent orifices, producing intense hydrothermal alteration of the sediments. At these locations complex hydrothermal processes occur, including reactions of the hydrothermal fluids with mafic and ultramafic rocks and magma degassing, as suggested by the carbon isotope composition of hydrothermal calcites. The high temperature of the fluid inferred from the geochemistry of the hydrothermal minerals requires a significant heat input to the system, suggesting an additional magmatic heat source to the already proposed exothermic serpentinization reactions.     

Impedance Functions of Slab Foundations with Rigid Piles

The earthquake resistant design of structures depends upon the soil-structure interaction during seismic excitation. The dynamic behavior of surface foundations and deep foundations has been investigated by several authors (Gazetas in Soil Dyn Earthq Eng 2(1):2–42, 1983; Pecker in Dynamique des sols. Presses de l’Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées, Paris, 1984; Sieffert and Cevaer in Manuel des fonctions d’impédance. Ouest-Editions, Nantes, 1992, etc.) but the dynamic behavior of pile-reinforced soils has not been sufficiently studied yet. The design of pile-reinforced soils comprises the design of the rigid piles and the design of the earth-platform. The foundation system studied in this article consists of an earth-platform over a soft ground reinforced by deep piles. In order to understand the dynamic behavior of a rigid pile, a series of dynamic tests is conducted on an experimental site. The vertical and horizontal impedances of the slab foundation are obtained with and without rigid piles. The numerical models are developed to interpret these dynamic tests. The numerical and experimental impedance functions are compared in both the vertical and the horizontal directions. A sensitivity analysis on the influence of the physical and geometrical properties of rigid piles on the impedance functions is presented.     

Protective effect of phospholipid hydroperoxide glutathione peroxidase (PHGPx) against lipid peroxidation in mussels Perna perna exposed to different metals

Levels of antioxidant defenses and lipid peroxidation were evaluated in mussels exposed to lead (200 mg/l), iron (500 microg/l), cadmium (200 microg/l) and copper (40 microg/l), for 12, 24, 72 and 120 h. Glutathione S-transferase (GST) activity was unchanged with all treatments. Catalase (CAT) increased after 120 h of exposure to all metals. Mussels exposed to Cd for 12 h, and to Cu and Fe for 120 h had increased lipid peroxidation, which might be associated to decreased levels of reduced glutathione (GSH) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity. Pb exposure caused GSH depletion after 12 h and increased GPx activity after 120 h. Negative correlations were observed between the enzyme phospholipid hydroperoxide glutathione peroxidase (PHGPx) and malonaldehyde (MDA) levels after Fe and Cu exposure, indicating a protective role of PHGPx against lipid peroxidation, and suggesting the use of this enzyme as a new potential biomarker of toxicity associated with contaminant exposure in mussels.