A study of heavy metal pollution in the Tinto-Odiel estuary in southwestern Spain using factor analysis

The estuary of Odiel and Tinto rivers, located on the southwestern coast of the Iberian Peninsula, receives acidic fluvial water discharges with high concentrations of sulphates and heavy metals from these rivers. In addition, a big industrial complex which efflues directly on the system is located in the same estuary. The effluents induce the presence in the estuary of high concentrations of heavy metals and phospates (nutrients). The application of factorial analysis techniques on the nutrients and heavy metal concentrations in 46 water samples taken from 32 different sampling stations located along the estuary, allows three groups of elements and compounds with a distinct origin to be determinated. So, Cu and Zn have a clear fluvial provenance, whereas PO₄ and As are clearly industrial wastes and Cl, K, Ca, Li, Rb and Sr come from the sea. From the factorial analyses we can deduce the existence of two agents controlling the behavior of the analyzed elements, which are: the tidal exchange with the open sea and the fluvial supply. Received: 20 November 1998 · Accepted: 11 August 1999     

块系岩体间黏弹性性质对摆型波传播的影响

基于深部非连续自应力等级块系岩体构造理论,研究冲击载荷在块系岩体中以摆型波形式传播时岩块间黏弹性性质对摆型波传播的影响。当岩块间具有五种不同黏弹性性质时,通过对块系岩体的始端和末端区域中间岩块加速度响应计算及各岩块加速度正负摆幅幅值分析可知：岩块间黏性变化时,对岩块加速度衰减周期没有影响,但黏性增大时各岩块正负摆幅下降幅度比黏性周期增大时大;岩块间弹性变化时岩块加速度衰减周期均发生变化,但弹性减小时正负摆幅值向平衡位置平移,弹性周期减小时块系岩体的前半部分岩块正负摆幅曲线均出现波动且负摆波动较大,岩块间弹性梯级增大时,岩块加速度迅速衰减,同时各岩块加速度的正负摆幅曲线在初始端区域出现波动。     

Estimating periphyton standing crop in streams: a comparison of chlorophyll a sampling and visual assessments

Periphyton standing crop is often measured as chlorophyll a but there is increasing interest in using visual assessments of periphyton cover. Visual methods are rapid and require no sample analysis, but can be regarded as subjective with high inter-operator variability. We investigated variability in periphyton standing crop across operators, rivers and time, as determined visually and from chlorophyll a measurements. We found that visual assessments (comprising percentage cover estimates of up to eight periphyton categories) distinguished sites and occasions as effectively as chlorophyll a. Furthermore, an estimate of chlorophyll a could be derived from the visual assessments. Because our surveys were conducted in only three rivers, general applicability of the derivation of estimated chlorophyll a from the visual assessments warrants further investigation. The current recommendation of 20 views was sufficient for realistic visual assessments of average cover. Overall, our results indicated that inter-operator variability in visual assessments need not be a major concern, given adequate training.     

Spatial evolution of an AMD stream in the Iberian Pyrite Belt: process characterization and control factors on the hydrochemistry

ABSTRACT

This paper presents hydrochemical data of an AMD stream, Poderosa Creek, in the Iberian Pyrite Belt, obtained between its source, in the Poderosa Mine portal, and its confluence with the Odiel River. The main objective is to establish potential interdependent relationships between sulphate and metal loads and the following physico-chemical variables: pH, electrical conductivity (EC), redox potential (EH) and dissolved oxygen (DO). All the parameters show an overall increasing tendency from the tunnel exit to the confluence at the Odiel River. The TDS and EC are two relevant exceptions. They behave similarly, showing a decreasing trend and a strong inflection that describes a minimum immediately after the discharging point. Spatial analysis combined with statistical tools reveal typical AMD processes and the respective physico-chemical implications. Inputs with distinctive hydrochemical signatures impose relevant modifications in the Poderosa Creek waters. This indicates low hydrochemical inertia and high vulnerability to external stimuli.

Editor D. Koutsoyiannis; Associate editor not assigned     

Transient Structures and Stream Interaction Regions in the Solar Wind: Results from EISCAT Interplanetary Scintillation, STEREO HI and Venus Express ASPERA-4 Measurements

We discuss the detection and evolution of a complex series of transient and quasi-static solar-wind structures in the days following the well-known comet 2P/Encke tail disconnection event in April 2007. The evolution of transient solar-wind structures ranging in size from <10⁵ km to >10⁶ km was characterised using one-minute time resolution observation of Interplanetary Scintillation (IPS) made using the European Incoherent SCATter (EISCAT) radar system. Simultaneously, the global structure and evolution of these features was characterised by the Heliospheric Imagers (HI) on the Solar TERrestrial RElations Observatory (STEREO) spacecraft, placing the IPS observations in context. Of particular interest was the observation of one transient in the slow wind, apparently being swept up and entrained by a Stream Interaction Region (SIR). The SIR itself was later detected in-situ at Venus by the Analyser of Space Plasma and Energetic Atoms (ASPERA-4) instrument on the Venus Express (VEX) spacecraft. The availability of such diverse data sources over a range of different time resolutions enables us to develop a global picture of these complex events that would not have been possible if these instruments were used in isolation. We suggest that the range of solar-wind transients discussed here may be the interplanetary counterparts of transient structures previously reported from coronagraph observations and are likely to correspond to transient magnetic structures reported in in-situ measurements in interplanetary space. The results reported here also provide the first indication of heliocentric distances at which transients become entrained.     

Undrained behaviour of silt under static and cyclic loading

In this study, the undrained behaviour of silt under low stress level is studied. An effective preparation method for built—in silt samples in the triaxial test was firstly developed. By triaxial testing of samples at low confining pressures it was found that silt easily loses stability and liquefies. Loose silt may show temporary liquefaction under static loading, and develop full liquefaction under cyclic loading. The most important factors influencing the silt behaviour are porosity, confining pressure, consolidation state, cyclic loading level and number of cycles. The maximum obtainable shear stress is primarily a function of the confining pressure and the internal frictional angle. The actual structure of the silt material is the key factor in controlling its behaviour.     

The ‘suitcase hypothesis’: Can entrainment of meroplankton by eddies provide a pathway for gene flow between Madagascar and KwaZulu-Natal,South Africa?

Similarities in the marine fauna found off the coasts of southern Madagascar and KwaZulu-Natal Province (KZN), South Africa, led to the development of the ‘suitcase project,’ with the aim of establishing whether eddies that form off southern Madagascar may package and transport biological material across the Mozambique Channel, facilitating connectivity and gene flow. Meroplankton (larval stages of fishes and benthic invertebrates) were collected on the Madagascan shelf and along a transect through a cyclonic eddy in the Mozambique Channel. The samples were analysed using microscopy and DNA barcoding, seeking to identify species known to be common to both the southeast coast of Madagascar and the east coast of South Africa and thereby to reveal potential indicators of connectivity between these regions. The greatest zooplankton biovolume in the upper 200 m occurred on the shelf, followed by in the western part of the eddy and in the region outside the eddy to the west, and was lowest in the region outside the eddy to the east. The meroplankton were dominated by taxa of coastal origin and these were also most abundant on the shelf and in the western part of the eddy, with the lowest abundances in the region outside the eddy to the east. The findings show greater zooplankton biovolumes and larval abundances and the presence of reef-associated larval assemblages on the Madagascan shelf and along the transect through the cyclonic eddy, providing support for the suitcase hypothesis that planktonic organisms are entrained within eddies as they propagate south-westwards of the Madagascan shelf.     

Theoretical studies on metal thioarsenites and thioantimonides: synergistic interactions between transition metals and heavy metalloids

Recently we established that the ternary complex, CuAsS(SH)(OH) has an unusually high stability and makes a large contribution to the total concentrations of both Cu and As in sulfidic solutions equilibrated with Cu and As sulfide minerals. This ternary complex has an unusual structure, containing a bond which is formally Cu(I)–As(III), along with a broken As–S bond. We have now found that complexes with similar structures exist for Au⁺ and Tl⁺ coordinated to AsS(SH)(OH)^-. However, such a direct metal–metalloid bond is not a requirement for stability. In fact, TlAsS(SH)(OH) is unstable while AuAsS(SH)(OH) is highly stable (compared to the aquo ion). Zn²⁺, Cd²⁺, Hg²⁺ and Pb²⁺ also form bonds to the As of AsS(SH)(OH), but without breaking any As–S bonds, and HgAsS(SH)(OH)⁺ and PbAsS(SH)(OH)⁺ are particularly stable complexes. Calculated structures are shown for these complexes, gas-phase energies are calculated, and formation constants in aqueous solution are estimated. The SbS(SH)(OH)^- ion forms analogous complexes, with similar stabilities. However, the Au⁺ complex of SbS(SH)(OH)^- is slightly less stable than the Cu⁺ complex, opposite to the order found for the AsS(SH)(OH)^- ligand. The Au⁺ and AuSH complexes of AsSSHOH^- or AsS(SH)₂ ^- may be implicated in "invisible gold" in arsenian pyrites. Vibrational frequencies are given for the AuAsS(SH)₃ ^- complex and the XANES energies of this complex and Au(SH)₂ ^- are compared. The existence of such strong complexes may explain the many correlations observed between the concentrations of coinage metals and metalloids.