Application of transition metal isotope tracers in global change research

High-precision isotope composition determinations using multicollector, magnetic-sector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICPMS) have recently revealed that some transition metal isotopes such as those of Mo, Fe, Cu, Zn etc. can be used as biogeochemical tracers in global change research.The Mo isotope system may be useful in paleoredox investigations indicating that δ^97 ^95Mo in seawater may co-vary with changes in the relative proportions of anoxic and oxic sedimentation in the ocean, and that this variation may be recorded in δ^97 ^95Mo of anoxic sediments. The Mo continental flux into the oceans and the global Mo isotope budget can be estimated from δ^97 ^95M0 values. The Fe isotope composition in seawater is an important issue because Fe plays a controlling role in biological productivity in the oceans and its abundance in seawater may have substantial effect on climate changes. Iron isotope fractionations could result from bio- and abio-processes and have about 0.1% variation ( δ^56 ^54Fe), so Fe isotopes considered alone cannot be used to distinguish the products of abiotic and biotic Fe processing in geological records. Cu and Zn isotopes are also used as biogeochemical tracers, but the researches are relatively less. This review mainly focuses on the methods for preparation, purification and determination of new isotope tracer samples, and on isotope applications in marine environmental changes.     

Characterization of microbial processes in deep aquifers of the Fennoscandian Shield

Micro-organisms must be included in any hydrogeochemical modelling efforts in the ongoing Swedish programme to characterize potential sites for the geological disposal of spent nuclear fuel. This paper presents the development and testing of several methods for estimating the total numbers of micro-organism groups and amounts of their biomass in groundwater, their diversity, and the rates of microbial processes. The enumeration and cultivation methods were tested and evaluated on groundwater from boreholes at 450 m depth in the Äspö Hard Rock Laboratory (HRL), Sweden, and from two potential sites for a final repository of spent nuclear fuel, Forsmark and Laxemar. The reproducibility of the methods between parallel samples and over time was investigated and found to be excellent. Nitrate-, iron-, manganese- and sulphate-reducing bacteria and acetogens and methanogens were found in numbers up to approximately 87,000 cells L⁻¹ groundwater from the studied sites. A methodology that analysed microbial process rates was developed and tested under open and closed controlled in situ conditions in a circulation system situated 447 m underground in the MICROBE laboratory at the Äspö HRL. The sulphide and acetate production rates were determined to be 0.08 and 0.14 mg L⁻¹ day⁻¹, respectively. The numbers of sulphide- and acetate-producing micro-organisms increased concomitantly in the analysed circulating groundwater. Flushing the sampled circulation aquifer created an artefact, as it lowered the sulphide concentration. Microbial and inorganic processes involved in sulphur transformations are summarized in a conceptual model, based on the observations and results presented here. The model outlines how dissolved sulphide may react with Fe(III) and Fe(II) to form solid phases of iron sulphide and pyrite. Sulphide will, consequently, continuously be removed from the aqeous phase via these reactions, at a rate approximately equalling the rate of production by microbial sulphate reduction.     

The use of salinity contrast for density difference compensation to improve the thermal recovery efficiency in high-temperature aquifer thermal energy storage systems

The efficiency of heat recovery in high-temperature (>60 °C) aquifer thermal energy storage (HT-ATES) systems is limited due to the buoyancy of the injected hot water. This study investigates the potential to improve the efficiency through compensation of the density difference by increased salinity of the injected hot water for a single injection-recovery well scheme. The proposed method was tested through numerical modeling with SEAWATv4, considering seasonal HT-ATES with four consecutive injection-storage-recovery cycles. Recovery efficiencies for the consecutive cycles were investigated for six cases with three simulated scenarios: (a) regular HT-ATES, (b) HT-ATES with density difference compensation using saline water, and (c) theoretical regular HT-ATES without free thermal convection. For the reference case, in which 80 °C water was injected into a high-permeability aquifer, regular HT-ATES had an efficiency of 0.40 after four consecutive recovery cycles. The density difference compensation method resulted in an efficiency of 0.69, approximating the theoretical case (0.76). Sensitivity analysis showed that the net efficiency increase by using the density difference compensation method instead of regular HT-ATES is greater for higher aquifer hydraulic conductivity, larger temperature difference between injection water and ambient groundwater, smaller injection volume, and larger aquifer thickness. This means that density difference compensation allows the application of HT-ATES in thicker, more permeable aquifers and with larger temperatures than would be considered for regular HT-ATES systems.     

The geography of urban greenhouse gas emissions in Asia: A regional analysis

This paper aims to advance two objectives: (1) identify and explore greenhouse gas emissions from urban areas in Asia at the regional level; and (2) explore covariates of urban greenhouse gas emissions. We use the Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research estimates for carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and sulfur hexafluoride from 14 source activities for the year 2000, which are allocated on a 1/10° global grid. We extract emissions for 3535 urban extents all with populations over 50,000, accounting for approximately 91% of the region's urban population. We use regression analysis to associate emissions with urban area and growth, economic, and biophysical characteristics. Our findings suggest that urban areas account for between 30 and 38% of total anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions for the region and that emission per capita averages from urban areas are lower than those at the national level. Important covariates for total urban greenhouse gas emissions include population size, density and growth rate, income per capita, development status and elevation. This is a first and preliminary assessment of regional baseline trends using these data and this top-down analysis.     

Holocene sea‐level reconstruction in the Young Sound region,Northeast Greenland

A relative sea‐level curve over the Holocene is constructed for the Young Sound region in northeastern Greenland. The reconstruction is derived by dating the heights of raised beach ridges in coastal plains using optically stimulated luminiscence (OSL), and by dating palaeoterrestrial surface levels now buried beneath the intertidal frame using the ¹⁴C technique. The relative sea‐level curve reveals a rapid fall of at least 10 mm a^?1 from ca. 9500 to 7500 a ago, which slowed to 2 mm a^?1 until it reached the present sea level ca. 3000 a ago. This part of the curve is based on the raised beach ridge data. Thereafter, relative sea level continued to fall, to reach a minimum level at about 0.5 m below the present sea level ca. 2300 a ago. Since then, relative sea level has experienced a slow rise of about 0.2 mm a^?1. This part of the curve uses the data from the palaeoterrestrial surfaces. The study supplements other estimates of Holocene relative sea‐level changes and supports the observations of a decreasing trend in the timing of the cross point and in minimum relative sea level from South to North Greenland. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mobility and potential bioavailability of traffic-derived trace metals in a ‘wet–dry’ tropical region,Northern Australia

The aqueous mobility and potential bioavailability of metals and metalloids in road runoff in a ‘wet–dry’ tropical location were assessed by analysing metal and metalloid concentrations in particulate, total dissolved and labile dissolved phases in runoff waters. Road-derived Al, Cu, Pb, Sb and Zn concentrations were substantially elevated in runoff when compared to receiving creek waters. Median dissolved concentrations in road runoff exceeded those in creek waters by up to an order of magnitude. Leaching experiments of road sediments confirmed that several metals and metalloids were released in high concentrations from road sediments. Labile Zn and Cu concentrations measured by diffusion gradients in thin films (DGT) showed that almost all dissolved Zn and up to half of dissolved Cu in runoff waters and in road sediment leachate were potentially bioavailable. Comparisons of dissolved metal concentrations in receiving waters affected by road runoff with ecosystem guideline levels, indicated a risk of reaching toxic levels of Cu and Zn in the receiving waters in the absence of adequate treatment or dilution. Low dilution rates of road runoff are likely to occur during late ‘dry’ season/early ‘wet’ season storms which have the potential to produce high metal concentrations derived from long periods of accumulation of road sediment at a time when creek flow rates are at their annual minimum.     

The pseudometeorite Angara

Several pallasites are known to have formed strewn fields with multiple fragments. Therefore, it seems possible that the famous Krasnojarsk pallasite—the Pallas Iron of 687 kg—could have been accompanied by one or more additional fragments that had not been recovered due to incomplete observations from the overgrown and remote place of fall. During a survey for literature accounts of distant fragments in such a hypothetical strewn field, a report of native iron was found, dating to 1847. The fragments of nickel‐free iron—amounting to at least a few kg—had been recovered 1836–1843 during placer gold mining north of the Angara River. The position of these finds is coincident with Burovaya, Murozhna, and Uderei, the three known fragments of the pseudometeorite Angara, all collected in 1885.     

南极中山站至Dome A剖面表面雪样氧同位素组成

运用质谱技术 ,测定了南极中山站至 Dome A剖面 1 998/1 999年度表面雪样氧同位素组成。结果表明 ,表面雪样氧同位素组成变化范围相当大 (- 2 2 .5 1‰ - - 5 0 .6 7‰ ) ,且具有随距中山站距离逐渐增大、海拔高度逐渐增加而逐渐减小的趋势。线性回归分析显示表面雪样氧同位素组成与距中山站距离、海拔高度和纬度存在着很好的相关性 ,这实际上反映出稳定同位素组成和温度之间的密切联系