Environmental influences upon mercury, radon and helium concentrations in soil gases at a site near Denver, Colorado

Variations in soil gas Hg, Rn and He concentrations and meteorological variables were monitored daily at one site over a period of 22 months. Air and soil temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, soil moisture, wind direction and velocity, soil freeze-thaw, water table elevation, crystal strain and gas emissions were determined simultaneously in order to assess the influence of the environmental variables on gas emission.Mercury concentrations were found to be higher in the summer while Rn and He concentrations were higher in the winter. It is hypothesized that adsorption-desorption controls the migration of Hg whereas Rn and He concentrations are controlled by diffusion and mass transport. Gas emissions respond to seasonal and shorter-term changes in environmental conditions. Stepwise multiple regression using gas emissions as the dependent variables suggests that environmental parameters account for 62% of the total Hg variance, 83% of the total Rn variance, and 33% of the total He variance. Temperature, barometric pressure and soil moisture exert the most influence on gas emissions with temperature effects dominating gas emissions throughout the year. Soil gas emissions display a predictable behavior during winter and summer when more stable meteorological conditions exist. During the transitional seasons of spring and fall, soil gas emissions become erratic and exhibit increased variability. Environmental variables are interrelated and appear to control the manner of gas migration.Increased adsorption by solids during the season of falling temperature decreases soil gas Hg<0.0001 ng L⁻¹, which is desorbed as the soil warms in the spring. Transport of Rn and He is primarily by convection. During the winter months, air temperatures are less than soil temperatures promoting upward movement of Rn and He by convection. During the summer, soil temperatures are less than air temperatures and an inversion layer below the level of sampling reduces upward flux and observed concentration.     

Toward new paradigms in coastal resource management: Linkages and institutional effectiveness

Explosive population growth is expected to continue in coastal regions, and growth rates many times the national average are expected in many coastal counties in the next two decades. Most shallow-water marine habitats now exhibit “stress” from human activities and linkages between adverse environmental impacts and coastal development are apparent. These linkages are complex, often not well understood, yet are expected to increase in strength as coastal populations expand. Sound science-based management strategies are essential if we are to preclude continued deterioration of coastal environments. Environmental management is a politically mediated activity, however, and a broad array of organizations, both public and private, collectively determine societal response to management decisions. While our current regulatory infrastructure has an examplary record of achievement in environmental protection, the fact remains that adverse impacts to shallow-water marine habitats continue at significant rates. Both lack of scientific information and structural problems in our current institutional infrastructure are identified as impediments to better management performance for coastal habitats. Seven structural impediments to efficient science-based management in our current institutional infrastructure are identified. The issues are complex and comprehensive reform is politically difficult. Nonetheless, the magnitude, geographic scale, and temporal urgency of anticipated impacts from future growth and development scenarios argues strongly for the implementation of sound practical solutions to environmental protection on a sustained basis. Factors affecting management performance will also be amplified in an environment of limited investment in research and management infrastructure. Among the central themes are that science-based management practices in the future will require holistic approaches in which environment and economic development are inseparable. To work effectively large-scale, regional management schemes must build political consensus and integrate knowledge at unprecedented rates. Processes that increase rates of dissemination of scientific information into the public policy arena can significantly enhance management performance. Serious doubts are raised as to whether the current regulatory infrastructure can adequately respond to the complexicty, scale, and urgency future coastal management will demand. While comprehensive institutional reform will be difficult, a number of ideas are advanced in the context of improving institutional performance to a level necessary for large-scale, sustained management of coastal ecosystems.     

Characterization of lake water and ground water movement in the littoral zone of Williams Lake,a closed‐basin lake in north central Minnesota

Williams Lake, Minnesota is a closed‐basin lake that is a flow‐through system with respect to ground water. Ground‐water input represents half of the annual water input and most of the chemical input to the lake. Chemical budgets indicate that the lake is a sink for calcium, yet surficial sediments contain little calcium carbonate. Sediment pore‐water samplers (peepers) were used to characterize solute fluxes at the lake‐water–ground‐water interface in the littoral zone and resolve the apparent disparity between the chemical budget and sediment data. Pore‐water depth profiles of the stable isotopes δ¹⁸O and δ²H were non‐linear where ground water seeped into the lake, with a sharp transition from lake‐water values to ground‐water values in the top 10 cm of sediment. These data indicate that advective inflow to the lake is the primary mechanism for solute flux from ground water. Linear interstitial velocities determined from δ²H profiles (316 to 528 cm/yr) were consistent with velocities determined independently from water budget data and sediment porosity (366 cm/yr). Stable isotope profiles were generally linear where water flowed out of the lake into ground water. However, calcium profiles were not linear in the same area and varied in response to input of calcium carbonate from the littoral zone and subsequent dissolution. The comparison of pore‐water calcium profiles to pore‐water stable isotope profiles indicate calcium is not conservative. Based on the previous understanding that 40–50 % of the calcium in Williams Lake is retained, the pore‐water profiles indicate aquatic plants in the littoral zone are recycling the retained portion of calcium. The difference between the pore‐water depth profiles of calcium and δ¹⁸O and δ²H demonstrate the importance of using stable isotopes to evaluate flow direction and source through the lake‐water–ground‐water interface and evaluate mechanisms controlling the chemical balance of lakes. Published in 2003 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Microbiological monitoring and classification of karst springs

The use of groundwater as a drinking water resource requires knowledge of its microbiological status and quality. In contrast to conventional microbiological monitoring of groundwater, the present study not only considers faecal indicator bacteria, but also covers a wide spectrum of microorganisms, including bacterial pathogens (verotoxin-producing E. coli, Campylobacter spp. and Salmonella spp., as well as Pseudomonas aeruginosa), human enteric viruses (norovirus, enterovirus, rotavirus and adenovirus) and parasitic protozoa (Cryptosporidium oocysts and Giardia cysts). Samples collected at karst sites of the Swiss National Groundwater Monitoring network revealed the presence of a large diversity of microorganisms of faecal origin, the occurrence of which could be linked to specific hydrogeological settings and situations. The findings represent a ‘snapshot’ of the microbiological status at the monitoring sites and provide a national overview of the types and presence of microorganisms in Swiss karst groundwater. In addition to microbiological parameters related to faecal contamination, the overall bacterial load in groundwater was assessed using cell density measurements (i.e. total cell count), which yielded typical ranges for this ecological parameter. The study highlights differential vulnerability of karst groundwater to microbiological contamination, as well as its relationship with the microbial biocenoses, i.e. the interplay of allochthonous and autochthonous microbial components. On the basis of this data set, a microbiological classification of karst aquifers is proposed and discussed with respect to spring dynamics and vulnerability.     

Mercury in soils of the Long Valley, California, geothermal system

An evaluation of the Hg distribution in soils of the Long Valley, California, geothermal area, was made. A₁-horizon soil samples were collected utilizing a grid system from the resurgent dome area and the Long Valley area. In addition, samples were collected in five traverses across three fault systems and four traverses across east-west-oriented gullies to measure the importance of aspect. Additional samples were collected in an analysis of variance design to evaluate natural variability in soil composition with sampling interval distance.The primary objectives of this study were to further evaluate the applicability of anomalously high Hg concentration in soils to exploration for geothermal systems and the importance of secondary controls on Hg concentration in soils above geothermal systems.Statistical analysis indicates that there are two populations of Hg concentrations in soils; one affected by geothermal activity and the other unaffected. Samples from the resurgent dome are shown to be statistically different from the samples collected in Long Valley proper with respect to Hg, organic carbon, and pH. This suggests that secondary influences may be important in controlling Hg distribution in soils.Organic carbon in soils is shown by stepwise multiple regression to be the most important secondary parameter controlling Hg concentration. For the most part, the secondary controls of Hg are overwhelmed in an area of prominent geothermal activity. Some faults exhibit prominent anomalies in total Hg concentration and others do not, indicating the possibility of low levels of hydrothermal activity or effective sealing of faults to gas leakage.The analysis of variance results indicate that there is a regional trend in Hg concentration across the resurgent dome. Soils can be sampled for Hg by utilizing a grid of about 0.4 km spacing. However, some local irregularities appear in this pattern and anomalous areas should be prospected at intervals of 100 m or less.     

Restoring Resiliency: Case Studies from Pacific Northwest Estuarine Eelgrass (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Zostera marina</Emphasis> L.) Ecosystems

An objective of many ecological restoration projects is to establish resilience to disturbances. Eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) represents a useful model to evaluate resilience because the plant community is dominated by one species and the estuarine environment is dynamic. Our studies of planted and reference plots used shoot density monitoring data from three projects spanning 3 to 12 years. Data show that eelgrass can recover from major shifts in pond position and shape on sandflats, as well as natural disturbances causing >20-fold change in density. However, cumulative effects of multiple stressors on unestablished plantings suggest algal blooms of unusual magnitude can tip normally marginal conditions to unfavorable. Thus, potential resilience appears to depend on landscape conditions. A dynamic equilibrium was evinced in even the deepest, lowest-density plantings, probably associated with light-mediated carrying capacity and vegetative belowground production characteristic of the Pacific Northwest. We recommend eight resilience-related planning elements to reduce uncertainties in eelgrass restoration.     

Oilfield waters and sandstone diagenesis

The evolution of the organic geochemistry and carbonate alkalinity of oilfield waters is apparently regular and predictable; this evolution can be typified by five generalizations (1) at or near 80°C there appears to be an exponential rise in the concentration of organic acid anions; (2) the maximum concentration of organic acid anions occurs over approximately the 80–100°C temperature interval; (3) the highest concentrations of difunctional acid anions are associated with the other organic species maxima; (4) difunctional acid anions are the first to be decarboxylated, typically at temperatures of 100–110°C; (5) with increasing temperature (110–130°C) monofunctional acid anions begin to become decarboxylated, resulting in a fluid alkalinity dominated by bicarbonate. Dissolution experiments using artificial and natural oilfield waters demonstrate that mono- and difunctional carboxylic acid anions and hydroxybenzoic acid anions (present in both oilfield waters and the aqueous phase of hydrous pyrolysates) are capable of greatly enhancing Al, Si, Fe and Ca concentrations in solutions from dissolution of minerals by organometallic complexation. This enhancement of mineral solubility has been called upon to explain aluminosilicate dissolution porosity which is quantitatively important in many subsurface reservoirs; certainly, no other viable mechanism has been proposed to explain aluminum transport in the subsurface. When integrated into basin models, the regular evolution of organic and carbonate alkalinity in oilfield waters and the changing mineral stabilities that accompany that evolution help explain commonly observed diagenetic sequences in clastic systems.