Metal content and environmental risk assessment around high-altitude mine sites

Gold mining activities in Apolobamba area, northwest of La Paz, Bolivia have created serious environmental concern and great risk to human health. The current methods used to extract gold are too primitive resulting in metal contamination of soil and water. The objectives of this study were to: (1) determine the degree of metal pollution, and (2) assess the risk to human health and environment in the Apolobamba area. Soil, water, sediment samples, and mine spills were collected and analyzed. Metals including Pb, Cu, Zn, Cd, and Hg concentrations were higher in surface soils than in subsurface soils indicating active atmospheric deposition of metals. Sediment samples had elevated levels of metals probably from mine spills discharged into the Sunchulli River. Surface soils in the Sunchulli community show the highest levels of Pb and Hg in all soil samples and may pose a risk to the health of the human population and environment.     

Distribution and possible sources of organochlorine residues in sediments of a large urban estuary,Port Jackson,Sydney

Sydney Harbour is surrounded by a large capital city of about four million people and its highly urbanised (86%) catchment supports a substantial industrial base and an extensive transport infrastructure. Large commercial and naval ports occupy the waterway and the harbour is an important recreational area. Surficial sediment in Sydney Harbour contains high concentrations of PCBs, HCB, total chlordane, total DDT, aldrin, dieldrin, heptachlor and heptachlor‐epoxide, but low concentrations of lindane. PCBs, total chlordane, and to a lesser extent dieldrin, are most elevated in sediment in creeks on the southern shores of the harbour suggesting sources within older, highly urbanised/industrialised catchments of western‐central Sydney. There are high concentrations of total DDT and HCB in sediments of the upper harbour and Homebush Bay suggesting that chemical industries on the shores of the estuary in this area are sources of these contaminants. Although no sediment quality guidelines apply in Australia, empirically derived biological effects criteria suggest that sediment over extensive areas of Sydney Harbour may have an adverse impact on biota. Especially of concern are sediments containing high concentrations of chlordane and DDT.     

Pre-failure behaviour of reconstituted peats in triaxial compression

This paper discusses the results of an experimental programme designed to investigate the deviatoric behaviour of peats. The results are obtained from triaxial experiments carried out on reconstituted peat samples. The interpretation of the experimental results follows a hierarchical approach in an attempt to derive the ingredients that an elastic–plastic model for peats should contain, including the yield locus, the hardening mechanism and the flow rule. The results obtained from stress tests along different loading directions show that purely volumetric hardening is not adequate to describe the deviatoric response of peat and that a deviatoric strain-dependent component should be included. The plastic deformation mechanism also depends on the previous stress history experienced by the sample. Stress and strain path dependence of the interaction mechanisms between the peat matrix and the fibres is discussed as a possible physical reason for the observed behaviour. This work offers a relevant set of data and information to guide the rational development and the calibration of constitutive laws able to model the deviatoric behaviour of peats.

     

Analysis and farmers’ perception of climate change in the Kashmir Valley,India

Theoretical and Applied Climatology - Analysis of climatic variables is important for the detection and attribution of climate change trends and has received considerable attention from researchers...     

Exhumation of high-pressure rocks of the Kokchetav massif: facts and models

The exhumation of ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) metamorphic units from depths more than 100-120 km is one of the most intriguing questions in modern petrology and geodynamics. We use the diamondiferous Kumdy-Kol domain in the Kokchetav Massif to show that exhumation models should take into consideration initially high uplift velocities (from 20 down to 6 cm/year) and the absence of the deformation of UHP assemblages. The high rate of exhumation are indicated by ion microprobe (SHRIMP) dating of zircons from diamondiferous rocks and supported by the low degree of nitrogen aggregation in metamorphic diamonds.Diamondiferous rocks in the Kumdy-Kol domain occur as steeply dipping (60°-80°) thin slices (few hundred metres) within granite-gneiss. Using geological, petrological and isotopic-geochemical data, we show that partial melting of diamondiferous metamorphic rocks occurred; a very important factor which has not been taken into account in previous models.Deformation of diamondiferous rocks at Kumdy-Kol is insignificant; diamond inclusions in garnet are often intergrown with mica crystals carrying no traces of deformation. All these facts could be explained by partial melting of metapelites and granitic rocks in the Kumdy-Kol domain. The presence of melt is responsible for an essential reduction of viscosity and a density difference (Δρ) between crustal rocks and mantle material and reduced friction between the upwelling crustal block, the subducting and overriding plates. Besides Δρ, the exhumation rate seems to depend on internal pressure in the subducting continental crustal block which can be regarded as a viscous layer between subducting continental lithosphere and surrounding mantle.We construct different models for the three stages of exhumation: a model similar to “corner flow” for the first superfast exhumation stage, an intermediate stage of extension (most important from structural point of view) and a very low rate of exhumation in final diapir+erosional uplift.     

Geology and geochemistry of archaean felsic metavolcanic rocks of the Eastern Part of the Kolar greenstone belt, Dharwar craton, India: Implications for their petrogenesis and geodynamic setting

In the Kolar greenstone belt of the Dharwar craton, felsic metavolcanics are encountered prominently in its eastern region around Surapalli and Marikoppa. These felsic volcanic rocks are essentially homogeneous and their bulk mineralogy is almost the same. They consist of phenocrysts of quartz and feldspar, set in a fine-grained quartzo-feldspathic groundmass. They are calc-alkaline rhyolite in composition, and are characterized by high SiO₂ (av. 75.74 wt.%), moderate Al₂O₃ (av. 11.84 wt.%), Na₂O (av. 3.55 wt.%), K2O (av. 3.26 wt%) contents and low Mg# (av. 6.07), Cr (av. 8 ppm), Ni (av. 8 ppm), Sr (av. 331 ppm.), Y (av. 7 ppm), Yb (av. 0.87 ppm) and Nb/Ta (av. 6.40) values, suggesting Tonalite-Trondhjemite-Granodiorite (TTG) affinity for these felsic volcanics. They are strongly fractionated [(La/Yb)_N? = 14.41–48.70] with strong LREE enrichment [(La/Sm)_N = 2.50-3.59] and strong HREE depletion [(Gd/Yb)_N = 1.34–2.77] with positive Eu anomaly. The regional geological set-up, petrographic and geochemical characteristics suggest that these felsic volcanics probably were derived by partial melting of a subducting basalt slab at shallow depth without much involvement of mantle wedge in an island arc geodynamic setting.     

Matuyama-Brunhes reversal and Kamikatsura event on Maui: paleomagnetic directions, Ar/Ar ages and implications

Eighty-nine basaltic lava flows from the northwest wall of Haleakala caldera preserve a concatenated paleomagnetic record of portions of the Matuyama-Brunhes (M-B) reversal and the preceding Kamikatsura event as well as secular variation of the full-polarity reversed and normal geomagnetic field. They provide the most detailed volcanic record to date of the M-B transition. The 24 flows in the transition zone show for the first time transitional virtual geomagnetic poles (VGPs) that move from reverse to normal along the Americas, concluding with an oscillation in the Pacific Ocean to a cluster of VGPs east of New Zealand and back finally to stable polarity in the north polar region. All but one of the 16 Kamikatsura VGPs cluster in central South America. The full-polarity flows, with ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages spanning a total of 680 kyr, pass a reversal test and give an average VGP insignificantly different from the rotation axis, with standard deviation consistent with that for other 0-5 Ma lava flows of similar latitude. Precise ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating consisting of 31 incremental heating experiments on 12 transitional flows yields weighted mean ages of 775.6±1.9 and 900.3±4.7 ka for the M-B and Kamikatsura transitional flows, respectively. This Matuyama-Brunhes age is ∼16 kyr younger than ages for M-B flows from the Canary Islands, Tahiti and Chile that were dated using exactly the same techniques and standards, suggesting that this polarity transition may have taken considerably longer to complete and been more complex than is generally believed for reversals.     

对数周期偶极子天线的设计、制造和测试

文中所作的主要工作是为云南天文台十米抛物面设计、制造一付好的对数周期偶极子天线（ＬＰＤＡ）作馈源。工作有：（１）设计一对交叉的ＬＰ－ＤＡ；（２）分析ＬＰＤＡ特性；（３）估算抛物面的电特性；（４）讨论线极化向园极化转换的问题；（５）天线测量。ＬＰＤＡ的测量结果比较满意。该天线的方向图、平均输入阻抗、三分贝和十分贝波瓣宽度都在从０．５－１．５ＧＨｚ的频率范围内比较一致和稳定，变化很小。天线理论上的许多成就都是与数子计算机有关的。在文中，我们充分利用了计算机的功能来设计天线，分析天线特性，并从测量所得的所有数据文件中计算天线的参数。所编ＦＯＲＴＲＡＮ程序使这一切工作变得容易。最后，我们还讨论了用功率合成器实现线极化向园极化转换的各种情况     

ENCORE: the effect of nutrient enrichment on coral reefs. Synthesis of results and conclusions

Coral reef degradation resulting from nutrient enrichment of coastal waters is of increasing global concern. Although effects of nutrients on coral reef organisms have been demonstrated in the laboratory, there is little direct evidence of nutrient effects on coral reef biota in situ. The ENCORE experiment investigated responses of coral reef organisms and processes to controlled additions of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (N) and/or phosphorus (P) on an offshore reef (One Tree Island) at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. A multi-disciplinary team assessed a variety of factors focusing on nutrient dynamics and biotic responses. A controlled and replicated experiment was conducted over two years using twelve small patch reefs ponded at low tide by a coral rim. Treatments included three control reefs (no nutrient addition) and three + N reefs (NH4Cl added), three + P reefs (KH2PO4 added), and three + N + P reefs. Nutrients were added as pulses at each low tide (ca twice per day) by remotely operated units. There were two phases of nutrient additions. During the initial, low-loading phase of the experiment nutrient pulses (mean dose = 11.5 microM NH4+; 2.3 microM PO4(-3)) rapidly declined, reaching near-background levels (mean = 0.9 microM NH4+; 0.5 microM PO4(-3)) within 2-3 h. A variety of biotic processes, assessed over a year during this initial nutrient loading phase, were not significantly affected, with the exception of coral reproduction, which was affected in all nutrient treatments. In Acropora longicyathus and A. aspera, fewer successfully developed embryos were formed, and in A. longicyathus fertilization rates and lipid levels decreased. In the second, high-loading, phase of ENCORE an increased nutrient dosage (mean dose = 36.2 microM NH4+; 5.1 microM PO4(-3)) declining to means of 11.3 microM NH4+ and 2.4 microM PO4(-3) at the end of low tide) was used for a further year, and a variety of significant biotic responses occurred. Encrusting algae incorporated virtually none of the added nutrients. Organisms containing endosymbiotic zooxanthellae (corals and giant clams) assimilated dissolved nutrients rapidly and were responsive to added nutrients. Coral mortality, not detected during the initial low-loading phase, became evident with increased nutrient dosage, particularly in Pocillopora damicornis. Nitrogen additions stunted coral growth, and phosphorus additions had a variable effect. Coral calcification rate and linear extension increased in the presence of added phosphorus but skeletal density was reduced, making corals more susceptible to breakage. Settlement of all coral larvae was reduced in nitrogen treatments, yet settlement of larvae from brooded species was enhanced in phosphorus treatments. Recruitment of stomatopods, benthic crustaceans living in coral rubble, was reduced in nitrogen and nitrogen plus phosphorus treatments. Grazing rates and reproductive effort of various fish species were not affected by the nutrient treatments. Microbial nitrogen transformations in sediments were responsive to nutrient loading with nitrogen fixation significantly increased in phosphorus treatments and denitrification increased in all treatments to which nitrogen had been added. Rates of bioerosion and grazing showed no significant effects of added nutrients. ENCORE has shown that reef organisms and processes investigated in situ were impacted by elevated nutrients. Impacts were dependent on dose level, whether nitrogen and/or phosphorus were elevated and were often species-specific. The impacts were generally sub-lethal and subtle and the treated reefs at the end of the experiment were visually similar to control reefs. Rapid nutrient uptake indicates that nutrient concentrations alone are not adequate to assess nutrient condition of reefs. Sensitive and quantifiable biological indicators need to be developed for coral reef ecosystems. The potential bioindicators identified in ENCORE should be tested in future research on coral reef/nutrient interactions. Synergistic and cumulative effects of elevated nutrients and other environmental parameters, comparative studies of intact vs. disturbed reefs, offshore vs. inshore reefs, or the ability of a nutrient-stressed reef to respond to natural disturbances require elucidation. An expanded understanding of coral reef responses to anthropogenic impacts is necessary, particularly regarding the subtle, sub-lethal effects detected in the ENCORE studies.