EPA's Approach to Vadose Zone Monitoring at RCRA Facilities

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently proposed to amend federal regulations to require vadose zone monitoring at certain hazardous waste facilities. To support this proposal, EPA evaluated previous policy on vadose zone monitoring and examined advances in vadose zone monitoring technology. Changes in EPA vadose zone monitoring policy were driven by demonstrated advances in the available monitoring technology and improvements in understanding of vadose zone processes/When used under the appropriate conditions, currently available direct and indirect monitoring methods can effectively detect contamination that may leak from hazardous waste facilities into the vadose zone. Direct techniques examined include soil-core monitoring and soil-pore liquid monitoring. Indirect techniques examined include soil-gas monitoring, neutron moderation, complex resistivity, ground-penetrating radar, and electrical resistivity. Properly designed vadose zone monitoring networks can act as a complement to saturated zone monitoring networks at numerous hazardous waste facilities. At certain facilities, particularly those in arid climates where the saturated zone is relatively deep, effective vadose zone monitoring may allow a reduction in the scope of saturated zone monitoring programs.     

The Linear Coregionalization Model and the Product–Sum Space–Time Variogram

The product covariance model, the product–sum covariance model, and the integrated product and integrated product–sum models have the advantage of being easily fitted by the use of marginal variograms. These models and the use of the marginals are described in a series of papers by De Iaco, Myers, and Posa. Such models allow not only estimating values at nondata locations but also prediction in future times, hence, they are useful for analyzing air pollution data, meteorological data, or ground water data. These three kinds of data are nearly always multivariate and because the processes determining the deposition or dynamics will affect all variates, a multivariate approach is desirable. It is shown that the use of marginal variograms for space–time modeling can be extended to the multivariate case and in particular to the use of the Linear Coregionalization Model (LCM) for cokriging in space–time. An application to an environmental data set is given.     

Evaluation of Simultaneous Analyte Leaching/Vapour Phase Introduction for Direct Osmium Isotope Ratio Measurements in Solid Samples by Double-Focusing Sector Field ICP-MS

The analytical performance of a method for Os isotope ratio measurement by double‐focusing, sector field ICP‐MS (ICP‐SFMS) was evaluated. The method is based on several optimised, concurrent processes: Os extraction from samples in hot concentrated nitric acid; separation of Os from the digest solution by the formation of volatile osmium tetroxide accelerated by continuous hydrogen peroxide addition; transport of analyte vapour by an oxygen flow into the ICP; and isotopic determination by ICP‐SFMS. Due to the very efficient utilisation of analyte (approaching 0.5‰), Os isotope ratio measurement could be performed at low pg levels. Combined with an ability to process sample sizes up to 2 g (up to 50 g if the organic matrix of biological or botanical samples is eliminated by ashing), materials with Os concentrations in the low, or even sub pg g^?1 range could be determined by this method. Given that two complete digestion/distillation systems were available for interchangeable use, throughputs of up to fifteen samples per 8 hour shift could be achieved. The method precision, evaluated as the long‐term reproducibility of ¹⁸⁷ Os/¹⁸⁸Os ratio measurements in a commercial Os reference sample containing 0.5 ng Os, was 0.16% relative standard deviation (RSD, 1s). The method has been applied to perform replicate ¹⁸⁷ Os/¹⁸⁸ Os ratio measurements on a suite of fifty reference materials of various origins and matrix compositions, with Os concentrations varying from < 0.1 pg g^?1 to > 100 ng g^?1, yielding an average precision of 3% RSD. Though none of the materials tested are certified for Os content or Os isotope composition, comparison of the obtained data with published Os isotope information for similar sample types revealed close agreement between the two. The method can also be used for the simultaneous, semi‐quantitative determination of Os concentrations.     

The complex gravitational lens system B1933+503

We report the discovery of the most complex arcsec-scale radio gravitational lens system yet known. B1933+503 was found during the course of the CLASS survey and MERLIN and VLA radio maps reveal up to 10 components. Four of these are compact and have flat spectra; the rest are more extended and have steep spectra. The background lensed object appears to consist of a flat-spectrum core (quadruply imaged) and two compact 'lobes' symmetrically disposed relative to the core. One of the lobes is quadruply imaged while the other is doubly imaged. An HST observation of the system with the WFPC2 shows a galaxy with an axial ratio of 0.5, but none of the images of the background object is detected. A redshift of 0.755 has been measured for the lens galaxy.     

29Si MAS NMR relaxation study of shocked Coconino Sandstone from Meteor Crater, Arizona

 ²⁹Si nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy was used to characterize the silica phases in a moderately-shocked Coconino sandstone from Meteor Crater, Arizona. The spectra were recorded using direct polarization, magic-angle spinning, and variable delay times in a saturation recovery pulse sequence. Resonances observed at -97.3, -107.1, -113.9 and -191.2 ppm were assigned to a densified hydrous form of amorphous silica (D phase), quartz, coesite and stishovite phases, respectively. The relative percentages were estimated as 1.7, 80.6, 16.4 and 1.3% for the D, quartz, coesite, and stishovite phases. The power-law recoveries of the magnetization for the quartz and coesite phases can be interpreted in terms of their phase geometries. Received: January 3 1997 / Revised, accepted: August 4 1997     

B0712+472: a new radio four-image gravitational lens

A new four-image gravitational lens system, B0712+472, has been discovered during the Cosmic Lens All-Sky Survey. This system consists of four flat-spectrum radio images that are also seen on a Hubble Space Telescope ( HST ) image, together with the lensing galaxy. We present MERLIN, VLA and VLBA maps and WHT spectra of the system as well as the HST images. The light distribution of the lensing galaxy is highly elongated and so too is the mass distribution deduced from modelling. We suggest a redshift of ∼1.33 for the lensed object; the lens redshift will require further investigation. The discovery of this new system further increases the ratio of four-image to two-image lens systems currently known, exacerbating problems of required ellipticity of matter distributions in lensing galaxies.     

The dynamics and thermodynamics of precipitation loading

A one-dimensional, time-dependent numerical cloud model is used to analyze the factors in the dynamic and thermodynamic equations which lead to a steady-state or nonsteady-state solution for the cloud vertical motion, buoyancy, precipitation, and cloud water fields. ‘Bulk water’ microphysical techniques are used for the cloud, rain, and hail variables. An atmospheric sounding from a severe storm situation is used as initial and environmental conditions, yielding model updrafts of 40 m sec^?1 maximum and more than 10 m sec^?1 over the entire cloud region. ‘Early conversion’ of the cloud water to rain leads to loading of lower portions of the updraft by rain, the formation of appreciable amounts of hail by freezing of the supercooled rain, and subsequent loading of the middle and upper portions of the updraft so that the updraft erodes throughout the cloud depth and the cloud dissipates, yielding a vigorous rain shower. A delay in the conversion of the cloud water to rain results in a steady-state solution, no rain or hail falling through the updraft. A two-dimensional cloud simulation of this same case shows rain and hail in the upper cloud regions recycled in the two-dimensional flow into the updraft near cloud base and a breakdown of the updraft with resultant rainout (negligible hail reaching the ground). The breakdown of the updraft has profound effects on the temperature field within the cloud, causing the lapse rate to deviate from the steady-state condition and approach the initial environmental conditions. The results emphasize the fact that the local change in temperature (and other dependent variables as well) is not independent of the vertical velocity, in general. This has implications for the interpretation of measurements made within clouds.     

Mineral chemistry of layered Archaean anorthosite at Majorqap qâva,near Fiskenæsset,southwest Greenland

Variations of mineral chemistry are described in a layered sheet of partly metamorphosed anorthosite, leucogabbro, gabbro and peridotite. The rocks appear to represent part of two major cycles of crystal deposition in which the anorthite content of plagioclases decreases upwards from An_98?94 to An_90?75 and hornblendes show upward iron enrichment. The composition of corona minerals formed by subsolidus reaction between plagioclase and olivine in gabbro, suggests that these coronas formed under pressures of between 6 and 9 kb and at a temperature of about 800°C during a late magmatic or early metamorphic stage.     

Heterogeneous aquitard properties in sedimentary successions in the Apennine chain: case studies in southern Italy

The aim of this study was to analyse the hydrogeologic role of siliciclastic deposits and marly‐clayey‐calcareous successions within the carbonate Apennine chain (southern Italy). The study was carried out along the northern part of the Matese carbonate massif through (1) the hydraulic characterization of siliciclastic rocks in a test site, by means of Lugeon tests, and (2) the identification of the groundwater flow system discharging at an important spring located within a marly‐clayey‐calcareous succession in a second test site, by means of isotopic investigations. The results showed that the investigated siliciclastic deposits and marly‐clayey‐calcareous successions may allow significant groundwater discharge from carbonate aquifers. Thus, they do not everywhere behave as aquitard, contrary to the previous model. Instead, groundwater flows through the upper part of these successions, where stress release fracturing enhanced rock permeability in the near‐surface bedrock. Thus, these successions may locally be a new groundwater source within the southern Apennine chain. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.