Sequential extraction and leaching characteristics of heavy metals in abandoned tungsten mine tailings sediments

The chemical speciation of potentially toxic elements (As, Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn) in the contaminated soils and sulfides-rich tailings sediments of an abandoned tungsten mine in Korea was evaluated by conducting modified BCR sequential extraction tests. Kinetic and static batch leaching tests were also conducted to evaluate the potential release of As and other heavy metals by acidic rain water and the leaching behaviors of these heavy metals. The major sources of the elements were As-, Zn- and Pb-bearing sulfides, Pb carbonates (i.e., cerussite), and Pb sulfates (i.e., anglesite). The biggest pollutant fraction in these soil and tailing samples consists of metals bound to the oxidizable host phase, which can be released into the environment if conditions become oxidative, and/or to residual fractions. No significant difference in total element concentrations was observed between the tailings sediments and contaminated soils. For both sample types, almost no changes occurred in the mobility of As and the other heavy metals at 7 days, but the mobility increased afterwards until the end of the tests at 30 days, regardless of the initial pH. However, the mobility was approximately 5–10 times higher at initial pH 1.0 than at initial pHs of 3.0 and 5.0. The leached amounts of all the heavy metal contents were higher from tailings sediments than from contaminated soils at pH > 3.0, but were lower at pH < 3.0 except for As. Results of this study suggest that further dissolution of heavy metals from soil and tailing samples may occur during extended rainfall, resulting in a serious threat to surface and groundwater in the mine area.     

The behaviour of dissolved organic material,iron and manganese in estuarine mixing

Fractionation by ultra-filtration of the dissolved organic material (DOM) in the River Beaulieu, with typical concentrations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) of 7–8 mg C/l, showed it to be mainly in the nominal molecular weight range of 10³–10⁵, with 16–23% of the total DOC in the fraction > 10⁵. The molecular weight distribution of DOM in the more alkaline River Test (average DOC, 2 mg C/l) was similar. In the River Beaulieu water, containing 136–314 βg Fe/l in ‘dissolved’ forms, 90% or more of this Fe was in the nominal molecular weight fraction > 10⁵. Experiments showed that DOM of nominal molecular weight <10⁵ could stabilize Fe(III) in ‘dissolved’ forms. The concentrations of ‘dissolved’ Fe in the river water probably reflect the presence of colloidal Fe stabilized by organic material and this process may influence the apparent molecular weight of the DOM. Dissolved. Mn (100–136 βg/l) in the River Beaulieu was mainly in true solution, probably as Mn(II), with some 30% in forms of molecular weight greater than ca 10⁴.During mi xing in the Beaulieu Estuary, DOC and dissolved Mn behave essentially conservatively. This contrasts with the removal of a large fraction of the dissolved Fe (Holliday and LISS, 1976, Est. Coastal Mar. Sci. 4, 349–353). Concentrations of lattice-held Fe and Mn in suspended particulate material were essentially uniform in the estuary, at 3.2 and 0.012%, respectively, whereas the non-lattice held fractions decreased markedly with increase in salinity. For Mn the decrease was linear and could be most simply accounted for by the physical mixing of riverborne and marine participates, although the possibility that some desorption occurs is not excluded. The non-linear decrease in the concentration of non-lattice held Fe in particulates reflected the more complex situation in which physical mixing is accompanied by removal of material from the ‘dissolved’ fraction.     

Endolithic biodegradation of cool-water skeletal carbonates on Scott shelf, northwestern Vancouver Island, Canada

Biodegradation of shell material is widespread in the cool-water skeletal carbonate deposits on Scott shelf, northwestern Vancouver Island, and is especially evident in the large aragonitic bivalves, Glycymeris and Humilaria, major primary sediment contributors. Ten types of endolithic microborings have been identified in the shells, including representatives of green algae (e.g., Ostreobium quekettii), blue-green algae (e.g., Plectonema terebrans, ?Scytonema sp.), fungi, bacteria and clionid sponges, as well as macroborings of phoronids, polychaetes and naticid gatropods. Microcrystalline carbonate is not precipitated in vacated bores. Boring physically weakens the shells, rendering them more prone to mechanical abrasion during sediment transport and bioturbation, and to biological abrasion by grazing benthos. Tumbling experiments demonstrate that the rate of carbonate mud production is much greater for bored as compared to fresh bivalve shells, and that mud production rates decrease with tumbling time because most endolithic microborings are confined to the periphery of grains. Boring also increases significantly the porosity and surface area of skeletal grains, and destroys their organic matrix, making them susceptible to maceration and dissolution on cool-water shelves. Fostered by the generally low rates of carbonate production and accumulation, many aragonitic bivalve shells on Scott shelf have become thoroughly degraded through a combination of endolithic microboring, maceration and dissolution within about 1000 years in ambient sea water. In geologic terms, such selective taphonomic loss of skeletal material may be considerable in ancient temperate-shelf limestones and should be evaluated when interpreting their paleoecology and paleoenvironments.     

Depth of settlement of two mussel species on suspended collectors in Marlborough Sounds,New Zealand (Note)

The preferred depth of settlement and settlement period of two species of mussel spat were monitored at Yncyca Bay (NZMS1 S15 220460) and Wet Inlet (NZMS1 S16 265432) in the Marlborough Sounds on collectors suspended in 0–4 m of water between 20 October 1975 and 4 April 1976. Peak settlement of Mytilus edulis aoteanus was between 20 October 1975 and 4 January 1976, and decreased with increasing depth. Peak settlement of Perna canaliculus was between 16 February 1976 and 12 April 1976, and showed no preferred depth of settlement.

Capture of wild stocks of Mytilus edulis aoteanus and Perna canaliculus spat for use in aquaculture has become more reliable through accurate forecasting of peak settlement periods, and knowledge of preferred depth of settlement of the two species.

Preferred depth of settlement of spat may affect the shore zonation of mussels.     

Prediction and modelling of rainfall–runoff during typhoon events using a physically-based and artificial neural network hybrid model

Abstract

The accurate prediction of hourly runoff discharge in a watershed during heavy rainfall events is of critical importance for flood control and management. This study predicts n-h-ahead runoff discharge in the Sandimen basin in southern Taiwan using a novel hybrid approach which combines a physically-based model (HEC-HMS) with an artificial neural network (ANN) model. Hourly runoff discharge data (1200 datasets) from seven heavy rainfall events were collected for the model calibration (training) and validation. Six statistical indicators (i.e. mean absolute error, root mean square error, coefficient of correlation, error of time to peak discharge, error of peak discharge and coefficient of efficiency) were employed to evaluate the performance. In comparison with the HEC-HMS model, the single ANN model, and the time series forecasting (ARMAX) model, the developed hybrid HEC-HMS–ANN model demonstrates improved accuracy in recursive n-h-ahead runoff discharge prediction, especially for peak flow discharge and time.     

Scattering in the Atmosphere of Venus. I. Line profiles and curves of growth for isotropic scattering

We have computed line profiles and curves of growth for both reflected and transmitted radiation for typical lines in CO₂ bands (in the photographic infrared) which occur in the spectrum of Venus. In our model the pressure variation with altitude was considered and the base of the cloud deck was set at the 2 bar level. The temperature was held constant at 250K and a Voigt profile was used for the lineshape. We also assumed that the scale height of the cloud particles was equal to the scale height of the gas. The calculations were made for four values of the scattering optical thickness (τ_c = 0.1, 1.0, 10, and 100) using a continuum single scattering albedo $\text{ω}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>c</mtext>}}\text{= 0.9975}$ (which gives a Bond albedo of 0.896 for τ_c = 100, the value observed for Venus at these wavelengths). Curves of growth are also presented for reflected radiation which has been averaged over the visible disk for three values of the Venus phase angle (0, 86, and 166°).     

Asteroid rotation: III. 1978 Observations

Photoelectric observations of 32 asteroids observed from Table Mountain Observatory during the second half of 1978 are reported. Rotation periods were obtained for most objects. Absolute magnitudes and phase functions were not determined for any of these asteroids. The geometric mean rotation period of the 32 asteroids observed is 14.2 ± 1.6 hr, as compared to 9.38 ± 0.35 hr for 182 asteroids analyzed in Paper I (A. W. Harris and J. A. Burns, 1979, Icarus 40, 115–144). We attribute this difference to an observational selection effect which favors detection of fast rotation, as discussed in Paper I. If this is true, then the present sample contains the reverse bias, since it is complete in that a period (in some cases very approximate) was obtained for each object observed, but fast rotators are underrepresented due to prior discovery of their rotation properties.     

Gamma-ray emissions from active galaxies

Recently, gamma rays (>100 MeV) have been detected from some active galaxies (Young and Yu, 1988). These gamma-ray data together with data in other wavebands give severe constraints to the emission mechanisms of radiations from these objects. The synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) model will be applied to these objects in the present work. It will be seen that the predictions from the SSC model agree excellently with the observations.     

List of Forthcoming Papers

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List of Forthcoming Papers