Influence of UV-B Radiation and Temperature on Photodegradation of PAHs: Preliminary Results

The joint impact of UV-B radiation and temperature on photodegradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) sorbed to an organic solvent was assessed in this study. This approach was experimentally performed in a laboratory investigation by means of comparison of two different environments: Atlantic (Lancaster, UK) and Mediterranean (Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain) climatic conditions. The concentration of 10 PAHs contained in a tetradecane solution was compared under two different temperatures (10 and 20°C) and UV-B doses (6.5 and 22.5 kJ m⁻² day⁻¹). No photodegradation was observed for the heaviest hydrocarbons (benzo(a)anthracene, chrysene, benzo(a)pyrene, dibenzo(g,h,i)perylene and coronene). In general terms, the half-life of PAHs was highly dependent on their molecular weight. Significant faster photodegradation rates were detected specially for light PAHs. It indicates that a synergistic effect occurred when both temperature and UV-B dose increased. This synergism might have a great implication on the long-range transport of environmental organic pollutants taking into account that low-latitude areas are the hottest and most irradiated of the planet.     

Sources and genesis of the Chinkuashih Au-Cu deposits in northern Taiwan: constraints from Os and Sr isotopic compositions of sulfides

The Chinkuashih district at northern Taiwan hosts one of the largest Au deposits in the western Pacific gold province. Gold were precipitated from hydrothermal solutions as native gold or incorporated into sulfides at a temperature range of 200-350 °C. The sulfides in ore mines have ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os ratios varying from 0.139 to 0.249. The positive ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os-1/Os correlation is consistent with derivation from the hybrid fluids containing various proportions of mantle and crustal components. The crustal component was the meteoric water that had acquired its Sr and Os isotopic signatures from the local sedimentary formations and dacitic intrusions. The mantle component was the magmatic fluid segregated from the dacitic magma by fractional crystallization. Based on the ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os-1/Os correlation, the hybrid fluids forming the Chinkuashih sulfides contained less than 30% magmatic fluid, except for one sulfide sample from Hsumei, which required >40% magmatic fluid. Compared to meteoric water, the magmatic fluid contained a higher Os content (130 times higher) and was enriched in Os relative to Sr with an Os/Sr ratio two orders higher than that of the crustal fluid. Consequently, the Os budget in the hybrid fluids was controlled by the magmatic fluid, although the meteoric water was volumetrically dominated. If gold and Os behave similarly in chemistry, the Chinkuashih gold deposits are of mantle origin and the area where sulfides with the greatest mantle Os signature may host undiscovered gold deposits. Finally, the ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os ratios of sulfides show no relationship with the mineral assemblages of sulfides, implying that the sulfide mineral assemblages reflect local surfacial redox conditions rather than the chemical characteristics of parental fluids.     

The South's Slave Culture Transplanted to the Western Frontier

The Missouri Compromise of 1820 had a significant impact on northwest Missouri's settlement patterns. Missouri's slave state status attracted a higher number of southern pioneers than what would have normally been expected. These early settlers brought with them their entire cultural‐economic system—the production of hemp and tobacco with slave labor. Within the Platte region, the geographic distribution of these cultural variables is explained by pioneer origins. Those areas settled primarily by Upper Southerners possessed the greatest number of slaves and produced the most hemp and tobacco. The findings demonstrate that by 1850 the Upper South's slave culture had been transplanted to northwest Missouri's Platte region.     

Holocene relative sea-level changes in the inner Solway Firth

Bio- and lithostratigraphic data from four sites from the inner Solway Firth allow an accurate reconstruction of Holocene RSL changes in the estuary. Radiocarbon assays give eleven new sea-level index points providing a total of 24 reliable index points for the inner Solway Firth. These data show a consistent pattern of rapid RSL rise during the early Holocene culminating in a mid-Holocene sea-level maximum, then a gradual fall to the present day level. Detailed analysis of this dataset quantifies for the first time differential crustal movement between the north and south shores of the Solway Firth. These data are used to test the accuracy of quantitative isostatic rebound models of Lambeck and Peltier, and show there is good general agreement between the data and the models, especially during the early Holocene. The models predict the mid-Holocene sea-level peak slightly later than shown by the data (c. 500 and c. 2000 yr), this may be partly due to lack of resolution in the models, and for the south Solway the maximum altitude at this peak is 1 and 2.5 m too high in the two models. The data are also compared to the isobase models of the Main Postglacial Shoreline, showing slight diachroneity between the north and south shore but otherwise general agreement with the postulated age, and indicating that the altitude of this feature is 1–3 m higher than suggested by the models.     

Potential protonation sites in the Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>SiO<Subscript>5</Subscript> polymorphs based on polarized FTIR spectroscopy and properties of the electron density distribution

Potential protonation sites for, kyanite, sillimanite, and andalusite, located in a mapping of the (3, −3) critical points displayed by their L(r) = −∇²ρ(r) distributions, are compared with polarized single-crystal FTIR spectra of kyanite and sillimanite determined earlier and with andalusite measured in this study. For andalusite, seven peaks were observed when the electric vector, E, is parallel to [100]: four intense ones at 3,440, 3,460, 3,526, and 3,597 cm⁻¹ and three weaker ones at 3,480, 3,520, and 3,653 cm⁻¹. Six peaks, three intense ones at 3,440, 3,460, and 3,526 cm⁻¹ and three weaker ones at 3,480, 3,520, and 3,653 cm⁻¹ when E parallels [010]. No peaks were observed when E is parallel to [001]. The concentration of water in andalusite varies between 110 and 168 ppm by weight % H₂O. Polarized FTIR spectra indicate that the OH vector is parallel to (001) in andalusite and sillimanite and in kyanite. Examination of the L(r) (3, −3) critical points in comparison with the polarized FTIR indicates that H prefers to bond to the oxygen atoms O1 and O2 in andalusite and O2 and O4 in sillimanite which correspond to the underbonded oxygen atoms and those with the largest L(r) maxima. In kyanite, comparison of the FTIR spectrum and the critical points indicates that H will preferentially bond to the two 4-coordinated O2 and O6 atoms.     

Paleoclimate of Southwestern China for the Past 50,000 yr Inferred from Lake Sediment Records

Long sediment cores (12.5 and 13.5 m) from two lakes in Yunnan Province were used to infer the paleoclimate of southwest China over the past 50,000 yr. During the Holocene and marine isotope stage (MIS 3), bio-induced carbonate precipitation and organic matter (OM) production was high, suggesting warm temperatures and high primary productivity. In contrast, sediment inorganic carbon (IC) and organic carbon (OC) concentrations were low in last glacial deposits from 38,000 to 12,000 cal yr B.P., indicating cool temperatures and low productivity. The 50,000-yr record has alternating peaks of carbonate and coarse-grain (>38 μm) quartz that reflect warm, moist interglacial or interstadial conditions alternating with cold, dry glacial or stadial conditions, respectively. Spectral analysis of the carbonate and quartz signals reveals power concentrated at periods of 7200 and 8900 cal yr, respectively, that may reflect a nonlinear climate response to precessional forcing at a time of reduced eccentricity modulation (McIntyre and Molfino, 1996). Oxygen isotope values of calcite from Yunnan lake cores indicate the summer monsoon was weak during the last glaciation from 50,000 to 12,000 cal yr B.P. The summer monsoon intensified between 12,000 and 8000 cal yr B.P., but weakened gradually in response to insolation forcing during the mid-to-late Holocene. Our results support the Overpeck et al. (1996) model that posits a weak summer monsoon during the last glaciation that responded nonlinearly to insolation forcing when its intensity was affected by Eurasian snow cover and ice-sheet extent. The summer monsoon intensified and responded linearly to seasonal insolation forcing in the Holocene when ice volume diminished.     

Magnetostratigraphic reinvestigation of the Palaeocene/Eocene boundary interval in Hole 690B, Maud Rise, Antarctica

Hole 690B, drilled on Maud Rise near Antarctica, provides one of the most important Palaeocene/Eocene boundary interval sections. Magnetostratigraphy plays a key role in dating Palaeocene/Eocene boundary events, but there are two problems with the published scheme in Hole 690B. The first concerns major mismatches of several magnetozones and biozones in the succession. The second is an unexplained pervasive declination cluster, which should not be present in these azimuthally unoriented piston cores. To resolve these issues, a palaeomagnetic reinvestigation was carried out on 98 specimens from 12 cores through the upper Palaeocene–middle Eocene section in Hole 690B.
The bulk of the samples carry an approximately uniformly directed magnetically hard component resulting in a declination cluster effectively identical to that of the earlier study. The spurious magnetization can be explained either as an 'inward-radial magnetization' or as a 'core-split overprint'. By estimating the extent of the overprint within each sample, it has been possible to construct a filtered magnetostratigraphy for the section. The result is that many of the magnetozone–biozone mismatches are eliminated, and the record of the 2.5 Myr Chron C24r, which brackets the various events associated with the Palaeocene/Eocene boundary, is considerably cleaner. It is not possible to define the upper and lower boundaries of this magnetochron, so we recommend that the dating of the events within this section be based on the biostratigraphy only.     

Detection of terracettes in semi-arid rangelands using Fourier-based image analysis of very-high-resolution satellite imagery

Terracettes are repeating step-like microtopographic features roughly following the contours of hillslopes that are often associated with livestock tracks. These common features in many semi-arid rangelands have been shown to alter soil moisture, slope stability, sediment transport, infiltration rates and coincident vegetation patterns. The spatial extent and distribution of terracettes is currently unknown and therefore their landscape-scale hydrological influence is absent in modelling and land management decision making. When viewed in uncalibrated very-high-resolution satellite imagery, terracettes appear as repetitious parallel lines within a specific frequency range. Here we used the two-dimensional discrete Fourier transform to identify terracettes at three test sites in the Inland Pacific Northwest, USA. We created an automated rule-based classification of terracetted sites based on spatial frequency, orientation, slope angle and land-use class. Results show a detection accuracy of 77% based on an optimized spatial frequencies search window between 0.3 and 0.7 m⁻¹. Terracette orientation did not contribute significantly to detection accuracy because orientations varied ±50° from digital elevation model-derived aspects. We found terracettes occurred predominantly on north-facing slopes at our test sites, although this estimate may be exaggerated by the timing of image capture. We feel that the method developed in this paper provides a way forward to map terracettes at large scales and enable new insights into the functions of terracettes in the landscape. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.