The beach placer iron deposit of Portman Bay,Murcia, SE Spain: the result of 33 years of tailings disposal (1957–1990) to the Mediterranean seaside

Between 1957 and 1990, the Peñarroya Mining and Metallurgical Company (SMMPE) disposed about 60 million tonnes of tailings materials directly to the Mediterranean Sea. A substantial part of it (12.5 Mt) was dragged back by the sea currents progressively infilling the Portman Bay (Murcia, SE Spain), thus making the shoreline advance between 500 and 600 m seaward. The Roberto froth flotation plant processed mineral from manto-type deposits belonging to the Sierra de Cartagena-La Unión lead-zinc district. One of the mineral assemblages present in these deposits comprises greenalite, magnetite, sulfides, carbonates, and silica. Despite that magnetite recovery was undertaken by SMMPE between 1959 and 1967, we estimate that magnetite contained in the tailings hosts a substantial resource that could be as large as 2.3 Mt of iron ore. The ore contains magnetite ± hematite ± siderite. Tidal waves and sea currents led to gravimetric classification of the tailings material, with concentration of the dense iron oxides in the sandy fractions, eventually forming a coastal placer iron deposit. A major problem for magnetic separation is the intimate intergrowth between magnetite, hematite, and siderite. Besides, the sands contain large concentrations of Pb (0.27 %), Zn (0.72 %), and As (559 ppm).     

Role of rhizosphere and soil properties for the phytomanagement of a salt marsh polluted by mining wastes

The goal of this study was to evaluate the soil properties and their modifications within the rhizosphere of spontaneous vegetation as key factors to assess the phytomanagement of a salt marsh polluted by mining wastes. A field survey was performed based on a plot sampling design. The results provided by the analyses of rhizospheric soil (pH, electrical conductivity (EC), organic carbon, total nitrogen, etc.) and metal(loid)s’ phytoavailability (assessed by EDTA) were discussed and related to plant metal uptake. The averages of pH and EC values of the bulk soil and rhizospheric samples were in the range of neutral to slightly alkaline (pH 7–8) to saline (>2 dS m^?1), respectively. Heavy metal and As concentrations (e.g. ~600 mg kg^?1 As, ~50 mg kg^?1 Cd, ~11,000 mg kg^?1 Pb) were higher in the rhizosphere for both total and EDTA-extractable fraction. Phragmites australis uptaked the highest concentrations in roots (e.g. ~66 mg kg^?1 As, ~1,770 mg kg^?1 Zn) but not in shoots, for which most of plant species showed low values for Zn (<300 mg kg^?1) but not for Cd (>0.5 mg kg^?1) or Pb (~20–40 mg kg^?1). Vegetation distribution in the studied salt marsh looked to be more affected by salinity than by metal pollution. The free availability of water for plants and the incoming nutrient-enriched effluents which flow through the salt marsh may have hindered the metal(loid)s’ phytotoxicity. The phytomanagement of these polluted areas employing the spontaneous vegetation is a good option in order to improve the ecological indicators and to prevent the transport of pollutants to nearby areas.     

Metals and metalloids in primary gold mining districts of Western Bolivia: anthropogenic and natural sources

Topsoil and subsoil samples located adjacent and distant from the mining operations sites were collected. Most total metals showed no significant differences between topsoil and subsoil or proximity, suggesting that they derive from endogenous parent material. There was an increment in Hg in topsoils adjacent to the mining operation sites, indicating a deposition of Hg from the amalgamation areas. Higher values of total, extractable and soluble As were observed adjacent to the mining operation sites, probably related to the presence of residues, rich in arsenopyrite. Organic matter and clay contents control the concentrations of EDTA-extractable Cd and Zn, while soil acidity was associated with the behaviour of As, Hg and Cu. In contrast the concentration of EDTA-extractable Pb was directly affected by its total concentration. In general, soluble metals were highly independent, without significant correlations with any soil physical and chemical properties.     

Metal accumulation by plant species growing on a mine contaminated site in Mexico

The present work aims to assess the efficiency of heavy metal accumulation of native species growing in contaminated soils in the mining district of Taxco, Mexico. Soil and tailing sampling was conducted in three study sites: La Concha, El Fraile, and a control site. The study localities present diverse metal concentrations with significant differences in their proportion in the geochemical fractions. Results show that species Cupressus lindleyi and Juniperus deppeana accumulate Zn and Mn in anomalous concentrations at La Concha, where Zn is present in soluble fractions. Manganese, despite not being present mostly in the soluble fraction in soils and tailings, seems to have been increased in the soluble fraction after the plant growth. In contrast, samples of the same species taken at El Fraile and in the control site, where Zn and Mn are mainly contained in the residual fraction, do not show an anomalous enrichment. Other analyzed species growing under the same contamination conditions in La Concha (Jacaranda mimosifolia and Psidium guajava) do not show anomalous concentrations. These facts confirm the Zn and Mn accumulation capacity of C. lindleyi and Ju. deppeana, which depends on their accumulation ability and on the concentration of these elements in the soluble fraction.     

Microfacies and Depositional Environments of Miocene Isolated Carbonate Platforms from Central Luconia, Offshore Sarawak, Malaysia

The Luconia Province – offshore Sarawak – is a key geological unit for understanding the distribution of hydrocarbon resources in Malaysia. Nevertheless, little effort has been made to address the palaeoenvironmental characteristics of the Tertiary carbonates in the key sector of Central Luconia. We study the sedimentology and petrography of core samples from a well in Central Luconia, for which thirteen microfacies have been identified reflecting different depositional settings. This is the first microfacies scheme elaborated for Luconian carbonates. Lithofacies and microfacies distribution are compatible with deposition in a reef complex, originating around a framework reef, within the euphotic zone. Sediments were deposited in environments of backreef, reef crest, and forereef. The fair weather wave base is marked by the presence of coralline red algae, foraminifera, decreasing degree of bioclast fragmentation and other microfacies features. As a result, a depositional-environmental model is constructed, depicting a reef complex built around a framework reef developed on the margin of an isolated platform. In addition, an innovative, preliminary time series analysis of facies, microfacies and depositional environment data reveal the existence of seasonal cycles in the stacking patterns of facies and microfacies.     

Temporal analysis of croatian seismogenic zones to improve earthquake magnitude prediction

The prediction of earthquakes is a task of utmost difficulty that has been addressed in many different ways. However, an initial definition of the area of interest is needed, with adequate catalogs. In this work, different seismogenic zones proposals in the Republic of Croatia are studied, in terms of predictability. Such zones have been characterized with widely used seismicity parameters. Later, studies based on training and test sets properties as well as the quality of the data involved are carried out. The studies presented in this work analyze the prediction performance across the earthquake magnitude time series of the target seismogenic zones. Results show that specific prediction techniques could be used in some zones to improve earthquake magnitude prediction.     

Magnetic properties of surface sediments as proxies of recent anthropogenic pollution in the Anllóns riverbed (NW Spain)

A study of surface sediments from the Anllóns riverbed (northwestern Spain) was conducted to assess the use of their magnetic properties as proxies of recent trace element contamination (i.e., As, Zn, Pb, Cr, Ni and Cu). Thermomagnetic curves, hysteresis parameters, specific magnetic susceptibility χ, frequency-dependent magnetic susceptibility κ _FD%, magnetic remanence and saturation isothermal remanent magnetization ratios (i.e., S and SIRM/χ) reveal the presence of mostly fine-grained magnetite and maghemite in these samples. The Tomlinson Pollution Load Index (PLI), as well as the magnetic parameters χ, κ _FD%, SIRM/χ and S-ratios, vary more or less in agreement to each other when they are sequentially arranged throughout a 30-km-long transect that goes from the town of Carballo to the river mouth in Ponteceso. From that profile, it is possible to identify an anomaly of χ that lies between two small peaks of the PLI and seems to define a contaminated area probably linked to a diffuse low-impact source of pollution. There is also a conspicuous peak of the PLI that is likely associated to a nearby gold mine. The variations of the κ _FD%’s along the transect are the ones that best reflect the changes in the PLI values, regardless of the level of contamination. This result suggests that adsorption is the main mechanism of trace elements removal by Fe oxides in these samples. Direct signal analyses, used to decompose the isothermal remanent magnetization curves, reveal the presence of four magnetic fractions, with varying relative concentrations all over the profile, namely single-domain magnetite, close to the superparamagnetic threshold (SD/SP) and/or maghemite (\(\log B_{1/2}\) ca 1.2), single-domain magnetite (\(\log B_{1/2}\) ca 2), hematite (\(\log B_{1/2}\) ca 2.5) and goethite (\(\log B_{1/2}\) ca 3.5). Integrating all the available information, it was sketched out a likely sequence of events that included magnetic minerals neoformation in parent soils, their subsequent chemical transformations and the contamination episodes that affected the region.     

Forward Coupled Modeling and Assessment of Gravity Anomalies Caused by Pumping Tests in Unconfined Aquifers Under Unsteady-State Conditions

Analysis of drawdown data from pumping tests is the most common method for identification of aquifer properties and estimation of hydraulic parameters in hydrogeology. Limited hard hydraulic data from wells, expensive and intrusive, can be supplemented with geophysical spatially distributed information. Gravity, sensible to mass variations, can provide information about hydraulic parameters and storage coefficients of aquifers. A satisfactory use of gravity requires the computation of temporal evolution of gravity anomalies related with the dynamic hydraulic process. For simplified and ideal problems, the calculation can be accomplished with analytical solutions. However, the limitations of analytical solutions in capturing some relevant characteristics, like heterogeneities, that require the use of numerical models, are well known. This article shows how the time-dependent gravity anomaly caused by a pumping test can be calculated in a unique code, in a coupled manner and in a single run. The methodology avoids the use and transference of data between various codes and can be utilized in a coupled hydrogeophysical inversion procedure. Additionally, it is flexible enough to include a wide range of characteristics that can be encountered in any pumping test, and is an adequate framework for field survey planning via analysis and study of time-dependent gravity curves.     

20th-CENTURY CHANGES OF TEMPERATURE IN THE MOUNTAIN REGIONS OF CENTRAL EUROPE

Daily maximum and minimum temperatures from 29 low-lying and mountain stations of 7 countries in Central Europe were analyzed. The analysis of the annual variation of diurnal temperature range helps to distinguish unique climatic characteristics of high and low altitude stations. A comparison of the time series of extreme daily temperatures as well as mean temperature shows a good agreement between the low-lying stations and the mountain stations. Many of the pronounced warm and cold periods are present in all time series and are therefore representative for the whole region. A linear trend analysis of the station data for the period 1901–1990 (19 stations) and 1951–1990 (all 29 stations) shows spatial patterns of similar changes in maximum and minimum daily temperatures and diurnal temperature range. Mountain stations show only small changes of the diurnal temperature range over the 1901–1990 period, whereas the low-lying stations in the western part of the Alps show a significant decrease of diurnal temperature range, caused by strong increase of the minimum temperature. For the shorter period 1951–1990, the diurnal temperature range decreases at the western low-lying stations, mainly in spring, whereas it remains roughly constant at the mountain stations. The decrease of diurnal temperature range is stronger in the western part than in the eastern part of the Alps.     

Analyzing the genesis, intensity, and tracks of western Mediterranean cyclones

Midlatitude cyclones are analyzed on a selected region covering most of southern Europe and the western part of the Mediterranean Sea (35–50°N, 10°W–25°E). On the basis of mean sea level pressure fields of the ECMWF (European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecast) Reanalysis Dataset (ERA-40), detailed evaluation of Mediterranean cyclones is accomplished for the period between 1957 and 2002 on a 1° horizontal resolution grid. Cyclone centers are identified and their paths are tracked with a 6-h time step (using 00 UTC, 06 UTC, 12 UTC, and 18 UTC). Decadal, annual, and seasonal statistical analysis of cyclone tracks includes the study of the genesis, frequency, and activity of the Mediterranean cyclones as well as the variability of cyclone tracks. The results suggest that the cyclone frequency in the western Mediterranean region increased in summer and autumn, and decreased in winter and spring. A special belt-shaped area is identified, which plays a special role in cyclogenesis, and also, the cyclone tracks often remain within this belt. An overall decreasing trend is detected in winter and spring in the entire Mediterranean belt, while cyclone frequency increased in autumn. The largest positive and negative trend coefficients are identified in summer.