Heavy metals contents on beach and dune sediments from Espinho to Mondego Cape (Portugal)—influence of human activities

Following previous studies on beach and dune sediments from the Espinho–Mondego Cape coastal sector, geochemical studies have been done on the same sediments aiming to unravel the lithological from the anthropogenic geochemical signal. 129 samples have been collected from 45 profiles, in beach and dune sediments. Total Fe, Cu, Pb, Zn, Mn, Cd, Co, Ni, Cr, Ca, Mg and Al concentrations were measured in the fine fractions of the sediments. The absence of relationship between the analysed heavy elements and Al and the exhibition of contents higher than the rocks outcropping in the hinterland, point to an additional source of heavy metals related to human activities. The available data allowed us to consider that inputs from Aveiro lagoon (natural and anthropogenic), Douro River and coastal erosion (by littoral drift or advective currents) are the main sources of heavy metals in this region.     

Tonian rift-related, A-type continental plutonism in the Araçuaí Orogen, eastern Brazil: New evidence for the breakup stage of the São Francisco–Congo Paleocontinent

Zircon U–Pb SHRIMP, petrographical and geochemical data lead to the first characterization of the Tonian plutonism (Salto da Divisa Granite Suite), ascribed to the continental rift stage of the precursor basin of the Araçuaí Orogen (Eastern Brazil). The suite includes batholitic plutons and comprises mainly fluorite-bearing, dominantly mesoperthitic hornblende–biotite leucogranites. The presence of mafic (tholeiitic) gabbroic enclaves and syn-plutonic dykes confers to the suite a bimodal character. The plutons were locally deformed and foliated under amphibolite facies conditions, in response to the Neoproterozoic collage of the Araçuaí Orogen against the São Francisco Cratonic margin. However, undeformed magmatic facies are well preserved at inner portions of the plutons. The granitoids are metaluminous, with high SiO₂ and HFSE: Nb, Zr, Y, Ta and REE (except Eu); low CaO, Al₂O₃, Sc, Ba, Sr; high FeOt/MgO ratios, characterizing a chemical signature akin to the subalkaline, A-2 type granites. U–Pb SHRIMP data obtained on zircons from the main pluton yielded a magmatic crystallization age of 875 ± 9 Ma. Some inherited xenocrysts revealed ages of ca. 2080 Ma, corresponding to ages of the host rocks, a Paleoproterozoic basement. Nd isotopic evolution studies confirm the Paleoproterozoic influence on magma genesis with a T_DM model age of ca. 1.6 Ga and ε_Nd of − 5.58 at 880 Ma. The African counterpart, the West Congo Belt, encompasses thick rift-related alkaline volcanic-sedimentary basin (Zadinian and Mayumbian groups, and associated anorogenic granites), dated in the interval of ca. 1000–900 Ma. The age differences between the Salto da Divisa Suite intrusion and the anorogenic magmatic episode at the West Congo Belt suggests a westward migration (i.e. to the Brazilian side) of the thermal axis of the rift, ca. 30 Ma after the ending of the extensional process in Africa.     

State of knowledge of coastal aquifer management in South America

A comparative analysis of the existing hydrogeological and management information from 15 coastal aquifers in South America was performed in order to obtain insight into common features of the sub-continent coastal zones. Some knowledge from other areas has been incorporated. There is a very variable degree of knowledge and management practice, ranging from almost no data and no action (the most common case), to sound conceptual models about aquifer behaviour and comprehensive management actions such as relocation of abstractions, pumping brackish groundwater, and aquifer vulnerability mapping. Some common features are: intensive groundwater exploitation; lack of characterization studies to support resource planning and management; lack of monitoring networks; and the need for raising awareness within society and its involvement in resource planning and management action programmes. Quality and quantity problems arising in heavily populated areas associated with coastal aquifers in South America point to unsustainable groundwater development. The sustainable use of those aquifers must rely on adequate evaluation of aquifer characteristics and monitoring.     

The kerogen type, depositional environment and maturity, of the Irati Shale, Upper Permian of Paraná Basin, Southern Brazil

Two samples from the upper and lower horizons of the Irati oil shale of the Paraná Basin, Brazil were sampled in a single borehole, and analysed using organic petrography and geochemistry. The results are interpreted in terms of the kerogen type, maturity and depositional environment of the two horizons.Organic petrography shows the oil-shales to be composed of a mineral groundmass, mainly clay minerals, carbonate and pyrite, associated, and sometimes impregnated, with fluorescing organic material and disseminated phytoclasts. Humic material is fairly rare and mostly present as very small particles. The liptinitic particles are mostly alginite (A and B), sporinite and more rarely resinite. Reflectance measurements (upper seam = 0.34% R₀; lower seam = 0.40% R₀) indicate an equivalent rank of lignite/sub-bituminous coal (ASTM), i.e. immature with respect to oil and gas generation. Different organic geochemical methods (Rock-Eval pyrolysis, solvent extraction, GC and GC-MS) demonstrate both samples to be immature, rich oil-shales (100–114 kg/ton) containing Type I kerogen, of a dominantly bacterially-degraded algal origin deposited in a lacustrine environment. The presence of Botryococcus suggests deposition under fresh/brackish water conditions.A tentative interpretation of the extract and vitrinite reflectance data suggests a maximum paleo-burial of between 1.3 and 2.8 km for the analysed section of the Irati Formation.     

Settlement Analysis of Açu Dam,Brazil

Geotechnical and Geological Engineering - The Armando Ribeiro Gonçalves Dam, popularly known as The Açu Dam, is an important geotechnical construction in Rio Grande do Norte state,...     

Definition of areas of probable risk to human health posed by As and Pb in soils and ground-level dusts of the surrounding area of an abandoned As-sulfide mine in the north of Portugal: part 1

The aim of this study is to assess the potential health risk posed by As and Pb in the soils of the Pintor mine area. The site was never remediated but a residential area is being constructed in the mine land, next to the smelters, a fact that raised some concern about the probable risk posed by potentially harmful elements in the soil to the health of the residents. 132 samples were collected and analyzed by ICP-MS to determine total metal concentrations. The soluble fraction of As in the soil was obtained using 1 M NH₄ Acetate, pH 4.5. To assess the probable risk, total concentrations are compared with the soil guideline value established for the UK. Exposure through soil ingestion is probable in and around the residential area that has higher As and Pb concentrations, and therefore is classified as area with a potential health risk.     

Analysis of the 1 November 2015 heavy rainfall episode in Algarve by using weather radar and rain gauge data

The trigger for the study presented in this paper was the extreme rain event of 1 November 2015 in Algarve region. The main objective was the analysis and improvement of the precipitation field using a radar–rain gauge merging method. Ordinary kriging with radar-based error correction has been applied to hourly values of precipitation from both sensors. The merging technique allowed keeping the better radar spatial pattern, being the respective estimates corrected by the rain gauges observations. The procedure led to a reduction in the errors of the precipitation estimates, evaluated by cross-validation, when compared to univariate interpolation of rain gauge observation or radar rain product. Finally, some discussion is also added on the problematic of flooding in urban areas, especially those with absent or deficient urban planning.     

Cytotoxic and genotoxic evaluation and chemical characterization of sewage treated using activated sludge and a floating emergent-macrophyte filter in a municipal wastewater treatment plant: a case study in Southern Brazil

This study was conducted to evaluate the chemical parameters and the cytotoxic and genotoxic potential of raw domestic sewage and effluents from treatment with activated sludge and a floating emergent-macrophyte filter from a domestic wastewater treatment plant in the city of Novo Hamburgo, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The physicochemical analysis revealed that both treatment systems achieved the legal emission pattern for biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, and suspended solids, but ammoniacal nitrogen and E. coli values were above the limits in the macrophyte treatment effluent. Phosphorous values were above the maximum permitted for both treatments. The results obtained from the Allium cepa test and the micronuclei test in fish did not demonstrate any significant differences in both cytotoxicity (mitotic index) and genotoxicity (chromosome aberration and micronucleus) endpoints between the negative control group and the exposed groups. However, the comet assay in fish revealed a DNA damage increase in animals exposed to the 30 % concentration of the macrophyte effluent and two concentrations of the activated sludge treatment effluent (10 and 75 %), which suggests that these two treatment systems may increase wastewater genotoxicity.     

Constraining sediment provenance for tsunami deposits using distributions of grain size and foraminifera from the Kujukuri coastline and shelf,Japan

Tsunami deposits preserved in the geological record provide a more comprehensive understanding of their patterns of frequency and intensity over longer timescales; but recognizing tsunami deposits can prove challenging due to post-depositional changes, lack of contrast between the deposits and surrounding sedimentary layers, and differentiating between tsunami and storm deposition. Modern baseline studies address these challenges by providing insight into modern spatial distributions that can be compared with palaeotsunami deposits. This study documents the spatial fingerprint of grain size and foraminifera from Hasunuma Beach and the Kujukuri shelf to provide a basis from which tsunami deposits can be interpreted. At Hasunuma Beach, approximately 50 km east of Tokyo, the spatial distribution of three common proxies (foraminiferal taxonomy, foraminiferal taphonomy and sediment grain size) for tsunami identification were mapped and clustered using Partitioning Around Medoids cluster analysis. Partitioning Around Medoids cluster analysis objectively discriminated two coastal zones corresponding to onshore and offshore sample locations. Results show that onshore samples are characterized by coarser grain sizes (medium to coarse sand) and higher abundances of Pararotalia nipponica (27 to 63%) than offshore samples, which are characterized by finer grain sizes (fine to medium sand), lower abundances of Pararotalia nipponica (2 to 19%) and Ammonia parkinsoniana (0 to 10%), higher abundances of planktonics (15 to 58%) and species with fragile tests including Uvigerinella glabra. When compared to grain-size and foraminiferal taxonomy, foraminiferal taphonomy; i.e. surface condition of foraminifera, a proxy not commonly used to identify tsunami deposits, was most effective in discriminating modern coastal zones (identified supratidal, intertidal and offshore environments) and determining sediment provenance for tsunami deposits at Kujukuri. This modern baseline study assists the interpretation of tsunami deposits in the geological record because it provides a basis for sediment provenance to be determined.     

Cenozoic thick-skinned deformation and topography evolution of the Spanish Central System

The Spanish Central System is a Cenozoic pop-up with an E–W to NE–SW orientation that affects all the crust (thick-skinned tectonics). It shows antiform geometry in the upper crust with thickening in the lower crust. Together with the Iberian Chain it constitutes the most prominent mountainous structure of the Pyrenean foreland.The evolutionary patterns concerning the paleotopography of the interior of the Peninsula can be established by an analysis of the following data: gravimetric, topographical, macro and micro tectonic, sedimentological (infilling of the sedimentary basins of the relative foreland), P–T–t path from apatite fission tracks, paleoseismic and instrumental seismicity.Deformation is clearly asymmetric in the Central System as evidenced by the existence of an unique, large (crustal-scale) thrust at its southern border, while in the northern one there is a normal sequence of north verging thrusts, towards the Duero Basin, whose activity ended during the Lower Miocene. This deformation was accomplished under triaxial compression, Oligocene–Lower Miocene in age, marked by NW–SE to NNW–SSE shortening. Locally orientations of paleostresses deviate from that of the regional tensor, following a period of relative tectonic quiescence. During the Upper Miocene–Pliocene, a reactivation of constrictive stress occurred and some structures underwent rejuvenation as a consequence of the action of tectonic stresses similar to those of today (uniaxial extension to strike–slip with NW–SE shortening direction). However, the westernmost areas show continuous activity throughout the whole of the Tertiary, with no apparent pulses. At the present time there is a moderate seismic activity in the Central System related to faults that were active during the Cenozoic, with the same kinematic characteristics.