Contaminated soils and sediments associated with Zn ore metallurgy near the São Francisco River,Minas Gerais (Brazil)

Draining through industrial areas of the Minas Gerais mining state (Brazil), some tributaries of the São Francisco River constitute a potential environmental hazard for this great river and threaten the quality of the regional soils for agriculture and other activities. Extensive geochemistry and mineralogy of sediments, soils and alluvial plains from six selected areas within the Consciência drainage basin close to an important Zn-extraction plant, have been carried out. In this report, detailed mineralogy of those samples and supporting geochemical data are discussed, taking into account their specific climactic and environmental context. Petrographic and electron microprobe characterization of the sand-grained fraction of these materials was complemented by XRD on their finer fraction: the main contaminant minerals are willemite (one of the Zn ores used in the industrial plant) and jarosite, though their contents are quite variable in the studied areas and also with depth; minor amounts of Zn-, Pb-, Cd-, and Mn-bearing mineral phases are also frequent, usually as inclusions in willemite or in polycrystalline clasts, or adsorbed on the finer materials, such as clay minerals and associated Fe-hydroxides. Mineralogical contamination is responsible for high metal contents in the soils and sediments of the areas closer to the plant (e.g. Zn ? 2000 mg kg^?1 and Cd ? 20 mg kg^?1, which are the Intervention Values for Industrial Areas) and the greatest contamination risks are related to the more labile phases that circulate throughout the alluvial plains, the shallow sediments and the stream bed. Monitoring the mineral/chemical contamination and its extent also constitutes a useful basis for future proposals to remediate and recover this industrial area in order to decrease medium- and long-term negative impacts of metal contamination on the local and downstream environments.     

Effects of forest slash and burn on the distribution of trace elements in floodplain sediments and mountain soils of the Subandean Amazon,Peru

Forest clearing through slash and burn to open up agricultural land is an ongoing process in large parts of the Amazon Basin. This activity severely affects the structure and balance of the natural ecosystem, and also has the potential to cause substantial changes in landscape geochemistry. The latter is the topic of this study, with special attention on translocation of potentially toxic trace elements from deforested areas to downstream aquatic and terrestrial systems. Sampling of floodplain sediments and mountain soils (Inceptisols on redbed lithologies) was carried out in two adjacent Subandean river basins, with deforestation extents of ca. 1/3 and 2/3 of the basin areas. Several toxic and potentially toxic metals (e.g., Hg, Cd, Pb, Cu and Ni) and other major and minor elements showed concentration peaks at certain depths in the alluvial deposits of both basins. These peaks were associated with organic matter, and occurred just below layers of combustion residues originating from burning of in situ biomass. Downward migration of particles originating in the combustion residues is suggested to be the direct mechanisms of the metal enrichments. Further evidence of an in situ origin of the metal peaks in the sediments was provided by the geochemical composition of soils located upstream of the floodplains. Disturbed soils (i.e. soils of pasture, coffee plantations, secondary forest and recently swidden fields) were found to be similar to soils under natural forest. Moreover, trace element concentrations in floodplain deposits were similar in the two drainage basins despite the large difference in exploitation degree. Thus, no evidence was found of large scale (basin-wide) increases in trace-metal leaching or translocation as a result of the extensive deforestation and agricultural land-use that has been practiced in the Amazonian highland jungle over more than 100 a.     

SfM-MVS Photogrammetry for Splash Erosion Monitoring under Natural Rainfall

An understanding of splash erosion is the basis to describe the impact of rain characteristics on soil disturbance. In typical splash cup experiments, splashed soil is collected, filtered, and weighed. As a way to collect additional data, our experiments have been supplemented by a photogrammetric approach. A total of three soils were tested across three sites, one in the Czech Republic and two in Austria, all equipped with rain gauges and disdrometers to measure rainfall parameters. The structure from motion multiview stereo (SfM-MVS) photogrammetric method was used to measure the raindrops impact on the soil surface. The images were processed using Agisoft PhotoScan, resulting in orthophotos and digital elevation models (DEMs) with a resolution of 0.1 mm/pix. The surface statistics included the mean surface height (whose standard deviation was used as a measure of surface roughness), slope, and other parameters. These parameters were evaluated depending on soil texture and rainfall parameters. The results show a linear correlation between consolidation and splash erosion with a coefficient of determination (R²) of approximately 0.65 for all three soils. When comparing the change in soil volume with rainfall parameters, the best correlation was found with the maximum 30-minintensity (I₃₀), resulting in R² values of 0.48 (soil A, silt loam, 26% clay), 0.59 (soil B, silt loam, 18% clay), and 0.68 (soil C, loamy sand, 12% clay). The initial increase in the sample volume for the lowest splashed mass corresponds with the increase in the clay content of each of the soils. Soil A swells the most. Soil B swells less. Soil C does not swell at all and consolidates the most. We derived the relationship between the photogrammetrically measured change in surface height and the splash erosion (measured by weight) by accounting for the effect of the clay content.     

Deciphering seismic and normal-force fluctuation signatures of debris flows: An experimental assessment of effects of flow composition and dynamics

Debris flows are gravity-driven mass movements that are common natural hazards in mountain regions worldwide. Previous work has shown that measurements of ground vibrations are capable of detecting the timing, speed, and location of debris flows. A remaining question is to what extent additional flow properties, such as grain-size distribution and flow depth can be inferred reliably from seismic data. Here, we experimentally explore the relation of seismic vibrations and normal-force fluctuations with debris-flow composition and dynamics. We use a 5.4 m long and 0.3 m wide channel inclined at 20°, equipped with a geophone plate and force plate. We show that seismic vibrations and normal-force fluctuations induced by debris flows are strongly correlated, and that both are affected by debris-flow composition. We find that the effects of the large-particle distribution on seismic vibrations and normal-force fluctuations are substantially more pronounced than the effects of water fraction, clay fraction, and flow volume, especially when normalized by flow depth. We further show that for flows with similar coarse-particle distributions seismic vibrations and normal-force fluctuations can be reasonably well related to flow depth, even if total flow volume, water fraction, and the size distribution of fines varies. Our experimental results shed light on how changes in large-particle, clay, and water fractions affect the seismic and force-fluctuation signatures of debris flows, and provide important guidelines for their interpretation.     

The spectral hardening associated with the westward travelling surge

Photometer recordings of auroral emissions from N⁺₂ and OI have demonstrated that the ratios between the emissions show a characteristic plateau just prior to the passage of a westward travelling surge. The plateau may be interpreted as a temporary (approx. 1 min) cessation in the spectral hardening of the precipitating particles associated with the surge. The characteristic energy of the plateau is about one keV above the level prior to the beginning of the surge. The results have been interpreted in terms of an instability that is switched on during the time of the plateau and then turned off when the electron density is increased above a certain limit.