Land-Parcel Land-Use History as a Key to Site Selection for Documenting Soil Contamination Risk： a Case Study from Australian Suburbia

In that orcharding in early-to-mid twentieth century southeastern Australia involved use of certain heavy metal and As compounds in regular pest-control spray procedures, some interest attaches to the possibility that these landparcels are underlain by soils with above-background Cu, Pb and As levels. Interpreta- tion of Land-cover changes allowed land parcels previously occupied by orchards to be identified in the 1950s through time-series air-photos. A comparison of soil analysis results referring to soil samples from control sites, and from land parcels formerly occupied by orchardists, shows that contamination （above-background） levels of cations in the pesticides can be found in the top 6 cm of former orchard soils. It is clear that digital spatial data handling and culturally-informed air photo interpretation has a place in soil contamination studies, land-use planning （with particular reference to re-development） and in administration of public health.     

Late Quaternary Spring-Fed Deposits of the Grand Canyon and Their Implication for Deep Lava-Dammed Lakes

One of the most intriguing episodes in the Quaternary evolution of the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River, Arizona, was the development of vast lakes that are thought to have backed up behind lava erupted into the gorge. Stratigraphic evidence for these deep lava-dammed lakes is expectedly sparse. Possible lacustrine deposits at six areas in the eastern canyon yielded no compelling evidence for sediment deposited in a deep lake. At two of the sites the sediment was associated with late Quaternary spring-fed pools and marshes. Water-lain silt and sand at lower Havasu Creek was deposited 3000 cal yr ago. The deposit contains an ostracode assemblage similar to that living in the modern travertine-dammed pools adjacent to the outcrop. The second deposit, at Lees Ferry, formed in a spring-fed marsh 43,000 cal yr ago, as determined by ¹⁴C and amino acid geochronology. It contains abundant ostracode and mollusk fossils, the richest assemblages reported from the Grand Canyon to date. Our interpretation of these sediments as spring-fed deposits, and their relative youth, provides an alternative to the conventional view that deposits like these were formed in deep lava-dammed lakes that filled the Grand Canyon.     

Microbial respiration and diffusive transport of O2, O2, and OO in unsaturated soils: a mesocosm experiment

Although the flux of molecular O₂ between the atmosphere and the subsurface is intrinsically linked to the net soil production of greenhouse gasses, few studies have focused on the controls affecting the isotopic composition of O₂ in the subsurface. Here, we developed and tested a stable oxygen isotope tracer technique and gas transport modeling approach to evaluate O₂ cycling and fluxes from the subsurface that used an environmentally controlled soil mescosm. We measured the O₂ and δ¹⁸O₂ profiles in a model unsaturated soil zone and quantified the O₂ consumption rates and the O₂ isotope fractionation factors resulting from the combined processes of subsurface microbial (including bacteria, fungi, and protozoa) consumption of O₂ and diffusive influx of O₂ from the atmosphere. We found that at high respiration rates in the mesocosm, there appeared to be very little isotope fractionation of O₂ by soil microorganisms. Although the mesocosm respiration rates are not typical of natural soils in northern temperate climes, they may be more representative of soils in warm and moist tropical environments. Our findings caution against the indiscriminate application of laboratory-determined oxygen isotope fractionation factors to field settings. The oxygen isotope tracer and modeling approach demonstrated here may be applied to gain a better understanding of biogenic gas production and O₂ cycling in subsurface systems and soils.     

Erosion and sediment transport in High Arctic rivers, Svalbard

This paper discusses sediment yield, sediment delivery and processes of erosion in rivers subject to High Arctic conditions in Svalbard. Long-term measurements reveal large variations between rivers and from year to year in each individual river. In the unglacierized catchment of Londonelva, annual sediment transport varied between 28 and 93 t/yr, with a mean sediment yield of 82.5 t/km²/yr. In the glacier-fed rivers Bayelva and Endalselva, the suspended sediment transport varied in the range of 5126 t/yr to 22797 t/yr during a 12-year period. A mean of 11 104 t/yr gave rise to a mean sediment yield of 359 t/km²/yr for the whole Bayelva catchment area. The sediment yield of the glacier and the moraine area was estimated at 586 t/km²/yr. A conceptual model used to interpret the long- and short-term patterns of sediment concentration in the meltwater from the glacier and erosion of the neoglacial moraines is proposed. Evidence is found that a proportion of the sediments are delivered by a network of englacial and subglacial channels that exist even in cold ice. Regression analyses of water discharge versus suspended sediment concentration gave significant correlations found to be associated with the stability of ice tunnels in cold ice. Large floods have been found to flush the waterways and exhaust the sediment sources. A long-term change in the exponent of regression lines is attributed to changes in sediment availability caused by flushing and expansion of tunnels and waterways by large floods and a subsequent slow deformation of them caused by the ice overburden and the glacier movement. A comparison of sediment yields from a number of polythermal and temperate glaciers in various areas showed large differences that were attributed primarily to bedrock susceptibility to erosion and, secondarily, to glaciological parameters.     

Predictive GIS-Based Model of Rockfall Activity in Mountain Cliffs

Rockfall susceptibility has been analysed in mountain cliffs of the Cantabrian Range, North Spain. The main aim of this analysis has been to build a predictive model of rockfall activity from a low number of environmental and geological variables. The rockfall activity has been quantified in a GIS. The cartographic information used shows the spatial distribution of all the recent talus screes as well as their associated source areas in the rock-slopes. The area relation At/Ar (recent talus scree polygon/source basins) in the rock slopes has been used as the rockfall activity indicator. This relation has been validated in 50 pilot rock-slopes and compared with the relation number of recent rock fragments/source basin, obtained from field work. The environmental factors causing rockfall depend on the rock slope situation, and these are: altitude and sun radiation on the rock cliff. The geological factors considered are: lithology, relative position of the main discontinuities with respect to the topographic surface and two morphologic parameters: the roughness and slope gradient. A logistic regression analysis has been applied to a population of 442 limestone and quartzite rock cliffs. The dependent variable is the rockfall activity indicator, which allows the definition of two classes of rock cliff units: low and high activity. The independent variables are altitude, sun radiation (equinox radiation, summer solstice radiation, winter solstice radiation), slope roughness, slope gradient,anisotropy and lithology. Results suggest that it is possible tobuild a valid cartographic predictive model for rockfall activity in mountain rock cliffs from a limited number of easily obtainable variables. The method is especially applicable in massive rock slopes or in regions with uniform rock mass characteristics.     

Secondary mineralization pathways induced by dissimilatory iron reduction of ferrihydrite under advective flow

Iron (hydr)oxides not only serve as potent sorbents and repositories for nutrients and contaminants but also provide a terminal electron acceptor for microbial respiration. The microbial reduction of Fe (hydr)oxides and the subsequent secondary solid-phase transformations will, therefore, have a profound influence on the biogeochemical cycling of Fe as well as associated metals. Here we elucidate the pathways and mechanisms of secondary mineralization during dissimilatory iron reduction by a common iron-reducing bacterium, Shewanella putrefaciens (strain CN32), of 2-line ferrihydrite under advective flow conditions. Secondary mineralization of ferrihydrite occurs via a coupled, biotic-abiotic pathway primarily resulting in the production of magnetite and goethite with minor amounts of green rust. Operating mineralization pathways are driven by competing abiotic reactions of bacterially generated ferrous iron with the ferrihydrite surface. Subsequent to the initial sorption of ferrous iron on ferrihydrite, goethite (via dissolution/reprecipitation) and/or magnetite (via solid-state conversion) precipitation ensues resulting in the spatial coupling of both goethite and magnetite with the ferrihydrite surface. The distribution of goethite and magnetite within the column is dictated, in large part, by flow-induced ferrous Fe profiles. While goethite precipitation occurs over a large Fe(II) concentration range, magnetite accumulation is only observed at concentrations exceeding 0.3 mmol/L (equivalent to 0.5 mmol Fe[II]/g ferrihydrite) following 16 d of reaction. Consequently, transport-regulated ferrous Fe profiles result in a progression of magnetite levels downgradient within the column. Declining microbial reduction over time results in lower Fe(II) concentrations and a subsequent shift in magnetite precipitation mechanisms from nucleation to crystal growth. While the initial precipitation rate of goethite exceeds that of magnetite, continued growth is inhibited by magnetite formation, potentially a result of lower Fe(III) activity. Conversely, the presence of lower initial Fe(II) concentrations followed by higher concentrations promotes goethite accumulation and inhibits magnetite precipitation even when Fe(II) concentrations later increase, thus revealing the importance of both the rate of Fe(II) generation and flow-induced Fe(II) profiles. As such, the operating secondary mineralization pathways following reductive dissolution of ferrihydrite at a given pH are governed principally by flow-regulated Fe(II) concentration, which drives mineral precipitation kinetics and selection of competing mineral pathways.     

Tolerance and Rejection: The Vote on Colorado's Amendment Two

Coloradoapos;s 1992 vote on Amendment Two was the first meaningful, broad-based test of attitudes on gay rights within the United States. Analysis of voting results distinguishes places of tolerance from places of rejection. Social differences separating these places reflect typical contrasts between “traditionalists” and “modernizers” found in cultural conflicts at the national level. Places showing support for gay rights are recreational-based mountain communities, urban areas, and university communities. Those showing opposition are rural, agriculturally based communities. Suburban areas produced a more ambivalent vote.     

An experimental and theoretical determination of oxygen isotope fractionation in the system magnetite-H2O from 300 to 800°C

Oxygen isotope fractionations have been determined between magnetite and water from 300 to 800°C and pressures between 10 and 215MPa. We selected three reaction pathways to investigate fractionation: (a) reaction of fine-grained magnetite with dilute aqueous NaCl solutions; (b) reduction of fine-grained hematite through reaction with dilute acetic acid; and (c) oxidation of fine iron power in either pure water or dilute NaCl solutions. Effective use of acetic acid was limited to temperatures up to about 400°C, whereas oxide-solution isotope exchange experiments were conducted at all temperatures. Equilibrium ¹⁸O/¹⁶O fractionation factors were calculated from the oxide-water experiments by means of the partial isotope exchange method, where generally four isotopically different waters were used at any given temperature. Each run product was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and on a limited basis, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and Mössbauer spectroscopy. Results from the microscopic examinations indicate the formation of well-crystallized octahedra and dodecahedra of magnetite where the extent of crystallization, grain size, and grain habit depend on the initial starting material, P, T, solution composition, and duration of the run.The greatest amount of oxygen isotope exchange (∼90% or greater) was observed in experiments where magnetite either recrystallized in the presence of 0.5 m NaCl from 500 to 800°C or formed from hematite reacted with 0.5 m acetic acid at 300, 350 and 400°C. Fractionation factors (10³ ln α_mt-H2O) determined from these partial exchange experiments exhibit a steep decrease (to more negative values) with decreasing temperature down to about 500°C, followed by shallower slope. A least-squares regression model of these partial exchange data, which accounts for analytical errors and errors generated by mass balance calculations, gives the following expression for fractionation that exhibits no minimum: 1000lnα_lmt-lw=−8.984(±0.3803)x+3.302(±0.377)x²—0.426(±0.092)x³ with an R² = 0.99 for 300 ≤ T≤ 800°C (x = 10⁶/T²). The Fe oxidation results also exhibit this type of temperature dependence but shifted to slightly more negative 10³ ln α values; there is the suggestion that a kinetic isotope effect may contribute to these fractionations. A theoretical assessment of oxygen isotope fractionation using β-factors derived from heat capacity and Mössbauer temperature (second-order Doppler) shift measurements combined with known β-factors for pure water yield fractionations that are somewhat more negative compared to those determined experimentally. This deviation may be due to the combined solute effects of dissolved magnetite plus NaCl (aq), as well as an underestimation of β_mt at low temperatures. The new magnetite-water experimental fractionations agree reasonably well with results reported from other experimental studies for temperatures ≥ 500°C, but differ significantly with estimates based on quasi-theoretical and empirical approaches. Calcite-magnetite and quartz-magnetite fractionation factors estimated from the combination of magnetite β’s calculated in this study with those for calcite and quartz reported by Clayton and Kieffer (1991) agree very closely with experimentally determined mineral-pair fractionations.