Fractionation characteristics of rare earth elements (REEs) linked with secondary Fe,Mn, and Al minerals in soils

Soil secondary minerals are important scavengers of rare earth elements (REEs) in soils and thus affect geochemical behavior and occurrence of REEs. The fractionation of REEs is a common geochemical phenomenon in soils but has received little attention, especially fractionation induced by secondary minerals. In this study, REEs (La to Lu and Y) associated with soil-abundant secondary minerals Fe-, Al-, and Mn-oxides in 196 soil samples were investigated to explore the fractionation and anomalies of REEs related to the minerals. The results show right-inclined chondrite-normalized REE patterns for La–Lu in soils subjected to total soil digestion and partial soil extraction. Light REEs (LREEs) enrichment features were negatively correlated with a Eu anomaly and positively correlated with a Ce anomaly. The fractionation between LREEs and heavy REEs (HREEs) was attributed to the high adsorption affinity of LREEs to secondary minerals and the preferred activation/leaching of HREEs. The substantial fractions of REEs in soils extracted by oxalate and Dithionite-Citrate-Bicarbonate buffer solutions were labile (10 %–30 %), which were similar to the mass fraction of Fe (10 %–20 %). Furthermore, Eu was found to be more mobile than the other REEs in the soils, whereas Ce was less mobile. These results add to our understanding of the distribution and geochemical behavior of REEs in soils, and also help to deduce the conditions of soil formation from REE fractionation.     

NDVI dynamic changes and their relationship with meteorological factors and soil moisture

Normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) is an important indicator for measuring vegetation coverage, which is of great significance for evaluating vegetation dynamics and vegetation restoration. It can clearly analyze the suitable growth condition of vegetation by studying the relationship between meteorological factors, soil moisture and NDVI. Based on MODIS/NDVI data, the spatio-temporal characteristics of vegetation coverage in the Weihe River Basin (WRB) were analyzed by the trend analysis method. The relationship of NDVI with meteorological factors and NDVI with soil moisture simulated by the soil and water assessment tool (SWAT) model was analyzed in this paper. The results show that NDVI values gradually change with an increase from north to south in the WRB. The maximum of the average monthly NDVI is 0.702 (August) and the minimum is 0.288 in February from 2000 to 2015. The results of the seven grades of NDVI trend line slope indicate that the improvement area of vegetation coverage accounts for 30.93% of the total basin, and the degradation area and basically unchanged area account for 23% and 42.9%, respectively. The annual mean soil moisture is 19.37% in the WRB. There was a strong correlation between NDVI and precipitation, temperature, evaporation and soil moisture, and the correlation coefficients were 0.78, 0.89, 0.71 and 0.65, respectively. The ranges of the most suitable growth conditions for vegetation are 80–145 mm (precipitation), 13–23 °C (temperature), 94–144 mm (evaporation) and 25–33% (soil moisture), respectively.     

Geotechnical design parameter evaluation using the alluvial plain characteristics in southeastern Iraq

Geotechnical construction is responsible for the overall stability of superstructures, and if there are design errors, the structure will be exposed to potential problems. Geotechnical design starts with the correct interpretation of the target ground. Southeastern Iraq is mainly comprised of an alluvial plain with diverse geological features, and, therefore, geotechnical design requires a detailed interpretation and understanding of the area. This paper reports on laboratory and field tests and in-depth analyses conducted on these alluvial plains. The results reveal that the upper layer of this area is highly over-consolidated. This may have been caused by the removal of overburden pressure as a result of glaciation and desiccation. The highly over-consolidated soils caused considerable sample disturbance by swelling the bored sample; this provided less reliable results. However, the cone penetration test was regarded as the most appropriate field assessment method for deriving sensible geotechnical design parameters. Despite its limitations in clayey soils, the standard penetration test provided results that matched well with previous observations due to the high penetration resistance of the highly over-consolidated ground. Down-hole tests and plate load tests were considered less reliable methods due to their limited applicability in this area. This study considers geographical features, laboratory methods, and empirical correlations from in situ tests, and, therefore, provides a well-summarized guideline to evaluate special geotechnical characteristics of the alluvial plain in southeastern Iraq.     

高效液相色谱-电感耦合等离子体质谱联用检测土壤中的无机硒形态

土壤样品中亚硒酸盐Se(Ⅳ)和硒酸盐Se(Ⅵ)的形态分析中,提取剂的选择和检测方法是技术的关键。以往的提取剂容易导致硒形态发生转变或无法同时提取Se(Ⅳ)和Se(Ⅵ),常用的氢化物发生原子荧光光谱法无法直接测定Se(Ⅵ),而是通过差减法得出Se(Ⅵ)含量。本文对比了不同提取剂的提取能力,确定使用0. 1 mol/L氢氧化钠溶液作为提取剂,在55℃超声萃取土壤样品30 min,提取液经高效液相色谱分离,电感耦合等离子体质谱检测,建立了土壤中Se(Ⅳ)和Se(Ⅵ)的形态分析方法。采用Hamilton PRP X-100色谱柱,以6 mmol/L柠檬酸为流动相,pH=5. 5,在8 min内可完全分离Se(Ⅳ)和Se(Ⅵ),两者的检出限分别为0. 15μg/L、0. 16μg/L,线性相关系数(r~2)均大于0. 999。以土壤为基体进行加标回收试验,Se(Ⅳ)和Se(Ⅵ)的回收率在84. 2%～95. 8%之间,相对标准偏差为1. 4%～5. 3%(n=6)。该方法简单快速,具有良好的精密度和准确度,适用于土壤中无机硒的形态分析。     

丹阳天王寺边坡稳定性评价及防治措施

针对苏南地区典型露采边坡的地层岩性及地质构造特点,以极限平衡理论为基础,运用GeoStudio软件中的SLOPE/W模块和VADOSE/W模块计算分析江苏丹阳天王寺边坡在天然工况、暴雨工况及地震工况下的稳定性。结果表明:天然工况下,潜在滑动面分布范围最小,稳定性最高,存在滑动的危险性;暴雨工况下,潜在滑动面分布范围有所增大,稳定性降低,边坡滑动的可能性较大;地震工况下,潜在滑动面分布范围最广,稳定性最低,边坡滑动的可能性很大。基于上述结果,提出防治措施。