Free cupric ion concentrations and Cu complexation in selected Swiss lakes and rivers

[Cu²⁺] and Cu complexation parameters in some selected freshwater systems in Switzerland were determined by the technique of ligand-exchange and DPCSV. Results from the water columns of some eutrophic and oligotrophic lakes are presented and compared to small acid lakes. Cu is strongly complexed by organic ligands which with very high stability constants at low concentrations are probably biologically produced, as indicated by the seasonal variations in the eutrophic lakes and by the relationship between Cu complexation and algal activity in the eutrophic (pCu=15–16), oligotrophic (pCu=13–14) and acidic (pCu=9–10) lakes. The extent of Cu complexation in river waters was generally lower than in the eutrophic lakes, at similar DOC levels. No obvious correlation between Cu complexation and DOC was observed, indicating that Cu complexing ligands are specific organic compounds.     

Bioremediation of petroleum hydrocarbons in anoxic marine sediments: Consequences on the speciation of heavy metals

We investigated the effects of biostimulation and bioagumentation strategies applied to harbor sediments displaying reducing conditions and high concentrations of petroleum hydrocarbons and heavy metals. We compared the microbial efficiency of hydrocarbon removal from sediments maintained for 60 days in anoxic conditions and inoculated with acetate, sulfate-reducing bacterial strains and acetate and sulfate-reducing bacteria. All treatments determined a significant increase in the microbial growth and significant decreases of hydrocarbon contents and of redox potential values. The addition of sulfate-reducing bacterial strains to the sediment was the most efficient treatment for the hydrocarbon removal. In all experiments, significant changes of the heavy metals’ phase repartition were observed. The results reported here suggest that the biodegradation of petroleum hydrocarbons in anoxic marine sediments may be enhanced by stimulating microbial anaerobic metabolism, but care should be applied to monitor the potential changes in the mobility and bioavailability of heavy metals induced by bio-treatments.     

Topographic effects observed at Amatrice hill during the 2016-2017 Central Italy seismic sequence

The estimate of seismic site effects by experimental approaches is based on different assumptions aimed at simplifying the complex actual site conditions and related uncertainties.However,the reliability of the results can increase if the experimental data is focused on quite strong seismic sequences and the on-site acquisition of a large number of signals is deemed strategic for the assessment of the expected phenomena.Based on these considerations,the ground motion at the Red Zone sector of Amatrice hill,violently struck by the 2016-2017 Central Italy seismic sequence,was analyzed via an observational approach.A large set of weak motions(moment magnitude Mw 2.5-3.9)was analyzed in this study by means of standard(SSR)and horizontal to vertical(HVSR)spectral ratio techniques.The results from the experimental analysis of the site effects by using weak motion and noise signals show a significant amplification at the top of Amatrice hill with a remarkable polarization of the motion and changes in spectral shapes according to the topographic setting of the relief.     

Relationship of Avalonian and Cadomian terranes to Grenville and Pan-African events

Suturing of the supercontinent Rodinia in the Grenville event (˜ 1000 Ma) was followed by rifting in the late Proterozoic (˜ 800-700 Ma), reorganization to Gondwana in the Pan-African (˜ 700-500 Ma) and further accretion to develop Pangea at the end of the Paleozoic. One of the Rodinian rifts followed part of the Grenville suture, it produced the margin of eastern North America and southern Baltica and the contrasting margin of west Gondwana in present South America. The Paleozoic accretionary wedge against the Grenville-age margin of North America and Baltica contains Avalonian/Cadomian terranes that exhibit Pan-African erogenic events ± sediments apparently developed while the terranes were in or near Gondwana. These terranes carry lower-Paleozoic fauna (Acado-Baltic) that are not indigenous to North America and Baltica.U---Pb zircon ages range from 1500-1000 Ma in Grenville terranes and from 800–500 Ma with minor inheritance in Avalonian terranes; they are generally much older in Cadomian terranes, implying very little resetting during Pan-African events. T_DM ages are generally 2000–1200 Ma in Grenville terranes, 1300–600 Ma in Avalonian terranes and 2000–1200 in Cadomian terranes. These summary data show that: (1) the Grenville orogenic event produced almost no juvenile crust; (2) the Avalonian terranes of North America contain crust that evolved primarily in the late Proterozoic, possibly as a mixture of juvenile Pan-African material and Grenville or slightly older material; (3) the Cadomian terranes of Europe consist of old (middle-Proterozoic to Archean) crust with minor juvenile Pan-African material. The Avalonian terranes apparently evolved near, and partly on, the Grenville-age crust now in South America during the intense orogeny associated with rotation of Gondwana away from North America. The Cadomian terranes of Europe, however, appear to be fragments of other parts of Gondwana, probably West Africa.     

Ar / Ar dating of high-pressure rocks from the Ligurian Alps: Evidence for a continuous subduction–exhumation cycle

We present ³⁹Ar–⁴⁰Ar dating of phengite, muscovite and paragonite from a set of mafic and metasedimentary rocks sampled from the high-pressure (HP) metaophiolites of the Voltri Group (Western Alps) and from clasts in the basal layer conglomerates from the Tertiary molasse which overlie the high-pressure basement. The white mica-bearing rocks display peak eclogitic and blueschist-facies parageneses, locally showing complex greenschist-facies replacement textures. The internal discordance of age spectra is proportional to the chemical complexity of the micas. High-Si phengites from eclogite clasts record a ³⁹Ar–⁴⁰Ar age of ca. 49 Ma for the eclogite stage and ca. 43 Ma for the blueschist retrogression; phengites from a blueschist basement sample yield an age of ca. 40 Ma; low-Si muscovite from a metasediment dates the formation of the greenschist paragenesis at ca. 33 Ma. Our data indicate that the analyzed samples reached high-pressure conditions at different times over a time-span of c.a. 10 Ma. Subduction was continuing during exhumation and blueschist retrograde re-equilibration of higher-pressure, eclogite-facies rocks. This process kept the isotherms depressed, allowing the older HP-rocks to escape thermal re-equilibration. Our results, added to literature data, fit a tectonic model of a subduction–exhumation cycle, with different tectonic slices subducted at different times from Early Eocene until the Eocene–Oligocene boundary.     

Shaking‐table tests of flat‐bottom circular silos containing grain‐like material

According to Eurocode 8, the seismic design of flat‐bottom circular silos containing grain‐like material is based on a rough estimate of the inertial force imposed on the structure by the ensiled content during an earthquake: 80% of the mass of the content multiplied by the peak ground acceleration. A recent analytical consideration of the horizontal shear force mobilised within the ensiled material during an earthquake proposed by some of the authors has resulted in a radically reduced estimate of this load suggesting that, in practice, the effective mass of the content is significantly less than that specified. This paper describes a series of laboratory tests that featured shaking table and a silo model, which were conducted in order to obtain some experimental data to verify the proposed theoretical formulations and to compare with the established code provisions. Several tests have been performed with different heights of ensiled material – about 0.5 mm diameter Ballotini glass – and different magnitudes of grain–wall friction. The results indicate that in all cases, the effective mass is indeed lower than the Eurocode specification, suggesting that the specification is overly conservative, and that the wall–grain friction coefficient strongly affects the overturning moment at the silo base. At peak ground accelerations up to around 0.35 g, the proposed analytical formulation provides an improved estimate of the inertial force imposed on such structures by their contents. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sediment and particulate phosphorus characteristics in grassed waterways from row crop corn and alfalfa fields collected by manual University of Exeter samplers and automatic sampling

Phosphorus (P) export from agricultural lands above known threshold levels can result in adverse impacts to receiving water quality. Phosphorus loss occurs in dissolved and sediment‐bound, or particulate phosphorous (PP), forms, with the latter often dominating losses from row‐cropped systems. To target practices, land managers need good computer models and model developers need good monitoring data. Sediment monitoring data (e.g. radiometric finger printing and sediment P sorption capacity) can help identify sediment source areas and improve models, but require more sediment mass than is typically obtained by automatic sampling. This study compares a simple suspended sediment sampler developed at the University of Exeter (UE) with automatic sampling in intermittent channels draining corn and alfalfa fields. The corn field had a greater runoff coefficient (27%) than alfalfa (11%). No differences were found in enrichment ratios (sediment constituent/soil constituent) in PP (PP_ER) or percent loss on ignition (LOI_ER) between paired UE samplers on corn. The median LOI_ER for the UE samplers (1·9%) did not differ significantly (p > 0·13) from the automatic sampler (2·0%). The PP_ER from the UE samplers was on average 20% lower than the automatic samplers. A correlation (r² = 0·75) was found between sediment PP and % LOI from automatic samplers and UE samplers for particles < 50 µm, while for > 50 µm PP concentration did not change with changes in % LOI. Sediment ammonium‐oxalate extractable metals were similarly related to LOI, with the strongest correlation for iron (r² = 0·71) and magnesium (r² = 0·70). Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.