Surveying the anthropogenic impact of the Moldau river sediments and nearby soils using magnetic susceptibility

Measuring magnetic susceptibility is a method which is used to estimate the amount of magnetic particles in soils, sediments or dusts. Changes in magnetic susceptibility can be due to various reasons: input from different sources of sediments, e.g. from different soils or rocks, atmospheric fallout of anthropogenic dusts containing magnetic particles produced by fossil fuel combustion, steel production or road traffic. In the case of river sediments, input from the catchment is of primary significance. The main aim of this investigation was to test the potential of magnetic susceptibility screening in identifying the effect and significance of anthropogenic activities in an area with complex geological conditions. We investigated the magnetic susceptibility of riverbed sediments of the largest river of the Czech Republic, the Moldau river. Besides that, the magnetic signal of nearby topsoils as well as of outcropping bedrocks in the vicinity of the river was examined. In the upper 300 km of the river, the magnetic enhancement of the river sediments can be linked to anthropogenic activities. Positive correlations were found in the river sediments between the contents of Cu and Zn and magnetic susceptibility, while Fe, Mn and Ni did not show a correlation with magnetic susceptibility. However, the major geogenic magnetic anomaly in the area around the Slapy dam has made it impossible to unambiguously interpret the magnetic signal in terms of anthropogenic impact in the last 80 km downstream.     

北京东郊722土壤垂向剖面重金属污染的磁学响应及其统计意义

对北京城东附近某苗圃内典型的土壤污染剖面进行了环境磁学和地球化学分析,发现某些重金属(Pb、Zn、Sr、Ba、Cu)和磁性参数呈现相同的垂向变化趋势,都在37cm以上显示高值区,磁化率均值达到192.02×10-8m3/kg,如Pb含量达到67.62mg/kg,而在37cm以下,明显属低值区,磁化率均值只有18.38×10-8m3/kg,Pb含量也只有23.43mg/kg.借助于指标聚类分析和主成分分析方法,揭示出各种指标之间的内在联系,表明磁参数与Pb、Zn、Sr、Ba、Cu等元素显著相关,彼此的相关系数都达到0.90以上,属于同一类别的隶属度在80%以上,说明磁指标可以作为这些重金属污染的一种代用指标.利用模糊C均值聚类分析分辨出了土壤上部污染物堆积层和下部未污染土壤背景2种不同的特征段.     

Dependence of microbial magnetite formation on humic substance and ferrihydrite concentrations

Iron mineral (trans)formation during microbial Fe(III) reduction is of environmental relevance as it can influence the fate of pollutants such as toxic metal ions or hydrocarbons. Magnetite is an important biomineralization product of microbial iron reduction and influences soil magnetic properties that are used for paleoclimate reconstruction and were suggested to assist in the localization of organic and inorganic pollutants. However, it is not well understood how different concentrations of Fe(III) minerals and humic substances (HS) affect magnetite formation during microbial Fe(III) reduction. We therefore used wet-chemical extractions, magnetic susceptibility measurements and X-ray diffraction analyses to determine systematically how (i) different initial ferrihydrite (FH) concentrations and (ii) different concentrations of HS (i.e. the presence of either only adsorbed HS or adsorbed and dissolved HS) affect magnetite formation during FH reduction by Shewanella oneidensis MR-1. In our experiments magnetite formation did not occur at FH concentrations lower than 5 mM, even though rapid iron reduction took place. At higher FH concentrations a minimum fraction of Fe(II) of 25-30% of the total iron present was necessary to initiate magnetite formation. The Fe(II) fraction at which magnetite formation started decreased with increasing FH concentration, which might be due to aggregation of the FH particles reducing the FH surface area at higher FH concentrations. HS concentrations of 215-393 mg HS/g FH slowed down (at partial FH surface coverage with sorbed HS) or even completely inhibited (at complete FH surface coverage with sorbed HS) magnetite formation due to blocking of surface sites by adsorbed HS. These results indicate the requirement of Fe(II) adsorption to, and subsequent interaction with, the FH surface for the transformation of FH into magnetite. Additionally, we found that the microbially formed magnetite was further reduced by strain MR-1 leading to the formation of either dissolved Fe(II), i.e. Fe²⁺, in HEPES buffered medium or Fe(II) carbonate (siderite) in bicarbonate buffered medium. Besides the different identity of the Fe(II) compound formed at the end of Fe(III) reduction, there was no difference in the maximum rate and extent of microbial iron reduction and magnetite formation during FH reduction in the two buffer systems used. Our findings indicate that microbial magnetite formation during iron reduction depends on the geochemical conditions and can be of minor importance at low FH concentrations or be inhibited by adsorption of HS to the FH surface. Such scenarios could occur in soils with low iron mineral or high organic matter content.