A combined mathematical geophysical model for prediction of pyrite oxidation and pollutant leaching associated with a coal washing waste dump

The waste produced by coal washing process produces many environmental problems. In this study, the pollution problems associated with the waste produced by Alborz Sharghi Coal Washing Plant was investigated by mathematical modeling. The study area is located at 11 km. to Razmjah coal region and 45 km. to Tehran-Mashhad road in the north part od Iran. To achieve the goal, a few samples were taken from different depths at three points on the waste dump in order to investigate pyrite oxidation and pollution generation. The samples were then analysed, using an AA-670 Shimadzu atomic absorption to determine the fraction of pyrite remained within the waste particles. A numerical finite volume model using Phoenics package has been developed to simulate pyrite oxidation and pollution generation from the Alborz Sharghi coal washing waste dump. The pyrite oxidation reaction is described by the shrinking-core model. Gaseous diffusion is the main mechanism for the transport of oxygen through the waste. The results of numerical modelling were compared with the field observations and close agreement was achieved. A simple mathematical model incorporating advection and hydrodynamic dispersion processes was also presented in order to verify the results of geophysical time-laps method showing transportation of the pollutants through the downstream of the waste dump. Both mathematical model and geophysical time-laps method are agreed in the identification of pollutant transport emanated from the waste dump. The results of such investigations can be used for designing an effective environmental management program.     

Diagenetic processes on metals in hypersaline mudflat sediments from a subtropical saltmarsh (SE Gulf of California): Postdepositional mobility and geochemical fractions

To understand the biogeochemical cycles of trace metals (Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni and Zn) in a hypersaline subtropical marsh, geochemical studies of both interstitial and solid phases were conducted on sediment cores from Chiricahueto marsh, SE Gulf of California. The sequential extraction procedure proposed by Tessier was used to estimate the percentages of the metals present in each geochemical phase of the sediment. Metal concentrations in the solid phase were found to be enriched in the upper layers and mainly associated with reactive fractions such as organic matter, Fe–Mn oxyhydroxides and carbonates (46–74% of Ni, Mn and Cd, and 11–19% of Cu and Zn). Principal factor analysis (PFA) and Spearman correlation analysis revealed a strong positive association of metals and their reactive phases with OC (the diagenetic component), and a negative or non-association with the mud content, Al, Fe and Li (the lithogenic component). Diagenetically released metals are mainly mobilized within hypersaline sediments by buoyancy transport (>90% of total flux) in response to an extreme salinity gradient by input of fresh groundwater (3–6 psu cm⁻¹). The molecular diffusion due to the gradient of metals in porewater (maximum and higher levels at 5–7 and below 20 cm depth, respectively) is significantly less important to the advective transport. Most of the metals mobilized by diffusion–advection processes are re-precipitated in the sediments by authigenic minerals, only <10% of most metals are extruded out to the overlying water column. Authigenic accumulation rates were estimated as 1.42–7.09 mg m⁻² a⁻¹ for Cd; 58.8–378 for Cu; 6922–17,985 for Fe; 38.2–345 for Mn; 20.8–263 for Ni; and 282–2956 mg m⁻² a⁻¹ for Zn. The Mn–Fe oxyhydroxides (40–85% of reactive metals) in the upper oxic–suboxic layers (<5 cm below surface) and sulfide minerals (75–97%) in anoxic sediment layers (7–18 cm) constitute the main scavengers for metals.     

The arsenic source term for an in-pit uranium mine tailings facility and its long-term impact on the regional groundwater

Detailed field sampling and analyses and laboratory-based diffusion-cell experiments were used in conjunction with 3-D reactive transport modeling (MODFLOW and MT3D99) to quantify the fate and long-term (10 ka) transport of As in the Rabbit Lake In-pit Tailings Management Facility (RLITMF), northern Saskatchewan, Canada. The RLITMF (300 m × 425 m × 90 m thick) was engineered to ensure solute transport within the RLITMF is dominated by diffusion. Concentrations of As in the tailings pore fluids ranged from 0.24 to 140 mg/L (n = 43). Arsenic speciation analyses indicate 90% of this arsenic exists as As⁵⁺. This observation is supported by pH–Eh measurements of pore fluids (n = 135). Geochemical analyses yielded a strong inverse correlation between the Fe/As molar ratio in the tailings solids and the corresponding concentration of dissolved As, which is attributed to the adsorption of As to secondary 2-line ferrihydrite present in the tailings. Diffusion-cell testing yielded values for the effective diffusion coefficient, sorption coefficient, and effective porosity of As in the tailings of 4.5 × 10⁻¹⁰ m²/s, 2–4 cm³/g and 0.36, respectively. Reactive transport simulations using the field and laboratory data show adsorption of As to the tailings and diffusive transport of dissolved As in the tailings should reduce the source term concentration of As to between 40% and 70% of the initial concentrations over the 10 ka simulation period. Based on these simulations, the As concentrations in the regional groundwater, 50 m down gradient of the tailings facility, should be maintained at background concentrations of 0.001 mg/L over the 10 ka period. These findings suggest the engineered in-pit disposal of U mine tailings can provide long-term protection for the local groundwater regime from As contamination.     

Some Results on the Spatial Breakdown Point of Robust Point Estimates of the Variogram

The effect of outliers on estimates of the variogram depends on how they are distributed in space. The ‘spatial breakdown point’ is the largest proportion of observations which can be drawn from some arbitrary contaminating process without destroying a robust variogram estimator, when they are arranged in the most damaging spatial pattern. A numerical method is presented to find the spatial breakdown point for any sample array in two dimensions or more. It is shown by means of some examples that such a numerical approach is needed to determine the spatial breakdown point for two or more dimensions, even on a regular square sample grid, since previous conjectures about the spatial breakdown point in two dimensions do not hold. The ‘average spatial breakdown point’ has been used as a basis for practical guidelines on the intensity of contaminating processes that can be tolerated by robust variogram estimators. It is the largest proportion of contaminating observations in a data set such that the breakdown point of the variance estimator used to obtain point estimates of the variogram is not exceeded by the expected proportion of contaminated pairs of observations over any lag. In this paper the behaviour of the average spatial breakdown point is investigated for cases where the contaminating process is spatially dependent. It is shown that in two dimensions the average spatial breakdown point is 0.25. Finally, the ‘empirical spatial breakdown point’, a tool for the exploratory analysis of spatial data thought to contain outliers, is introduced and demonstrated using data on metal content in the soils of Sheffield, England. The empirical spatial breakdown point of a particular data set can be used to indicate whether the distribution of possible contaminants is likely to undermine a robust variogram estimator.     

The features of the earthquake damage patterns of ancient city ruins in the Negev desert, Israel

During the last decades the ruins of Roman-Byzantine cities in the Negev desert of Israel have been the subject of intensive archeoseismic studies. A set of earthquake damage patterns was determined and several large scale earthquakes were identified as having occurred during the 2nd to 7th centuries AD. The ruins of buildings of the small village of Halssa provided a recent study of earthquake damage patterns that evolved quite recently—during the last 110 years.     

Sediment Trend Analysis through the variation of granulometric parameters: A review of theories and applications

Spatial variations in grain-size parameters (i.e. grain-size trends) contain information on sediment transport patterns. Analytical procedures have been proposed using the grain-size trend to determine net sediment transport pathways. In the first part of this study, the fundamentals of the theory are presented through methods for analysing 1D and 2D variations. The methods used are critically discussed, while pointing out some severe problems. So far, these methods suffer from limitations leading to serious interpretational errors, making it necessary to take account of two kinds of uncertainties. Inputs uncertainties are linked to the physical sediment properties as well as procedures of sampling and analysis. Model uncertainties are then discussed for each step of the grain-size trend analysis. The validity of Sediment Trend Analysis under natural conditions is tested against published field studies to determine the most appropriate variation trend to use in a specific environment. Proposals are given for each step of the procedure for optimal use of the method using a Quality Assurance (QA) approach. Further developments are proposed, such as integration into a Geographic Information System.     

Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene lake‐level fluctuations in the Lahontan Basin,Nevada: Implications for the distribution of archaeological sites

The Great Basin of the western U.S. contains a rich record of Late Pleistocene and Holocene lake‐level fluctuations as well as an extensive record of human occupation during the same time frame. We compare spatial‐temporal relationships between these records in the Lahontan basin to consider whether lake‐level fluctuations across the Pleistocene‐Holocene transition controlled distribution of archaeological sites. We use the reasonably well‐dated archaeological record from caves and rockshelters as well as results from new pedestrian surveys to investigate this problem. Although lake levels probably reached maximum elevations of about 1230–1235 m in the different subbasins of Lahontan during the Younger Dryas (YD) period, the duration that the lakes occupied the highest levels was brief. Paleoindian and Early Archaic archaeological sites are concentrated on somewhat lower and slightly younger shorelines (_1220–1225 m) that also date from the Younger Dryas period. This study suggests that Paleoindians often concentrated their activities adjacent to large lakes and wetland resources soon after they first entered the Great Basin. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.