A Practical Approach to the Design, Monitoring, and Optimization of In Situ MTBE Aerobic Biobarriers

A paradigm for the design, monitoring, and optimization of in situ methyl tert -butyl ether (MTBE) aerobic biobarriers is presented. In this technology, an oxygen-rich biologically reactive treatment zone (the "biobarrier") is established in situ and downgradient of the source of dissolved MTBE contamination in groundwater, typically gasoline-impacted soils resulting from leaks and spills at service station sites or other fuel storage and distribution facilities. The system is designed so that groundwater containing dissolved MTBE flows to, and through, the biobarrier treatment zone, ideally under natural gradient conditions so that no pumping is necessary. As the groundwater passes through the biobarrier, the MTBE is converted by microorganisms to innocuous by-products. The system also reduces concentrations of other aerobically degradable chemicals dissolved in the groundwater, such as benzene, toluene, xylenes, and tert -butyl alcohol. This design paradigm is based on experience gained while designing, monitoring, and optimizing pilot-scale and full-scale MTBE biobarrier systems. It is largely empirically based, although the design approach does rely on simple engineering calculations. The paradigm emphasizes gas injection–based oxygen delivery schemes, although many of the steps would be common to other methods of delivering oxygen to aquifers.     

A reinterpretation of the great pit at Hofstaðir,Iceland using sediment thin section micromorphology

The site at Hofstaðir in northeast Iceland has been central to the debate on pre-Christian Norse temples and temple-farm complexes throughout the Scandinavian world. Critical to an understanding of the site have been the various and conflicting interpretations of the great pit feature, which have included the hypotheses that it was intentionally made for the disposal of rubbish after temple feasts, that it was a cooking pit for large-scale food preparation within a temple–farm complex, and that it was the location of a rubbish tip for ordinary farmstead waste materials. In this article we test these competing hypotheses using the technique of thin section micromorphology. These analyses represent the first application of micromorphology to questions of archaeological site formation processes in Iceland, a volcanic island with commonly occurring Andisols. Although this soil type poses new challenges to archaeological soil micromorphology, it was found that pedofeatures, microstructures, and anthropogenic inclusions provide a basis for interpreting site formation processes on Andisols as on other soil types. We conclude that the pit feature had its origins as a sunken-featured building and that the hollow created by the building's abandonment and collapse was later filled with domestic farmstead waste. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Last glacial aggradation and postglacial sediment production from the non-glacial Waipaoa and Waimata catchments, Hikurangi Margin, North Island, New Zealand

The sediment flux generated by postglacial channel incision has been calculated for the 2150 km², non-glacial, Waipaoa catchment located on the tectonically active Hikurangi Margin, eastern North Island, New Zealand. Sediment production both at a sub-catchment scale and for the Waipaoa catchment as a whole was calculated by first using the tensioned spline method within ARC MAP to create an approximation of the aggradational Waipaoa-1 surface (contemporaneous with the Last Glacial Maximum), and second using grid calculator functions in the GIS to subtract the modern day surface from the Waipaoa-1 surface. The Waipaoa-1 surface was mapped using stereo aerial photography, and global positioning technology fixed the position of individual terrace remnants in the landscape. The recent discovery of Kawakawa Tephra within Waipaoa-1 aggradation gravels in this catchment demonstrates that aggradation was coincidental with or began before the deposition of this 22 600 ¹⁴C-year-old tephra and, using the stratigraphic relationship of Rerewhakaaitu Tephra, the end of aggradation is dated at ca 15 000 ¹⁴C years (ca 18 000 cal. years BP). The construction of the Waipaoa-1 terrace is considered to be synchronous and broadly correlated with aggradation elsewhere in the North Island and northern South Island, indicating that aggradation ended at the same time over a wide area. Subsequent downcutting, a manifestation of base-level lowering following a switch to postglacial incision at the end of glacial-age aggradation, points to a significant Southern Hemisphere climatic warming occurring soon after ca 15 000 ¹⁴C years (ca 18 000 cal. years BP) during the Older Dryas interval. Elevation differences between the Waipaoa-1 (c.15 ka) terrace and the level of maximum channel incision (i.e. before aggradation since the turn of the 20th century) suggest about 50% of the topographic relief within headwater reaches of the Waipaoa catchment has been formed in postglacial times. The postglacial sediment flux generated by channel incision from Waipaoa catchment is of the order of 9.5 km³, of which ~ 6.6 km³ is stored within the confines of the Poverty Bay floodplain. Thus, although the postglacial period represented a time of high terrigenous sediment generation and delivery, only ~ 30% of the sediment generated by channel incision from Waipaoa catchment probably reached the marine shelf and slope of the Hikurangi Margin during this time. The smaller adjacent Waimata catchment probably contributed an additional 2.6 km³ to the same depocentre to give a total postglacial sediment contribution to the shelf and beyond of ~ 5.5 km³. Sediment generated by postglacial channel incision represents only ~ 25% of the total sediment yield from this landscape with ~ 75% of the estimated volume of the postglacial storage offshore probably derived from hillslope erosion processes following base-level fall at times when sediment yield from these catchments exceeded storage.     

Certification of ERM‐EB400, the First Matrix Reference Material for Lead Isotope Amount Ratios,and ERM‐AE142, a Lead Solution Providing a Lead Isotopic Composition at the Edge of Natural Variation

Lead isotope amount ratios are commonly used in diverse fields such as archaeometry, geochemistry and forensic science. Currently, five reference materials with certified lead isotope amount ratios are available, namely NIST SRM 981, 982 and 983, GBW‐04442 and NMIJ 3681‐a. Only NIST SRM 981 and NMIJ 3681‐a have approximately natural isotopic compositions, and NIST SRM 981 is predominantly used for correcting mass discrimination/mass fractionation in the applied mass spectrometric procedures. Consequently, there is no other certified reference material available to be used for validation and/or quality control of the analytical procedures applied to lead isotope amount ratio measurements. To fill this gap, two new reference materials have been produced and certified for their lead isotope amount ratios. For both certified reference materials, complete uncertainty budgets have been calculated and SI traceability has been established. This provides the users with independent means for validating and verifying their analytical procedures and for conducting quality control measures. ERM‐EB400 is a bronze material with a nominal lead mass fraction of 45 mg kg^?1 and certified lead isotope amount ratios of n(²⁰⁶Pb)/n(²⁰⁴Pb) = 18.072(17) mol mol^?1, n(²⁰⁷Pb)/n(²⁰⁴Pb) = 15.578(18) mol mol^?1 and n(²⁰⁸Pb)/n(²⁰⁴Pb) = 38.075(46) mol mol^?1 with the associated expanded uncertainties (k = 2) given in brackets. ERM‐AE142 is a high‐purity solution of lead in 2% nitric acid with a nominal mass fraction of 100 mg kg^?1 and certified Pb isotope amount ratios of n(²⁰⁶Pb)/n(²⁰⁴Pb) = 21.114(17) mol mol^?1, n(²⁰⁷Pb)/n(²⁰⁴Pb) = 15.944(17) mol mol^?1 and n(²⁰⁸Pb)/n(²⁰⁴Pb) = 39.850(44) mol mol^?1 with the associated expanded uncertainties (k = 2) given in brackets. Both materials are specifically designed to fall within the natural lead isotopic variation and to assist users with the validation and verification of their analytical procedures. Note that while one of these reference materials requires the chemical separation of Pb from its matrix (ERM‐EB400), the other does not (ERM‐AE142). As additional information, δ^208/206Pb_{NIST SRM981} values are provided for both materials. For ERM‐AE142, a delta value of δ^208/206Pb_{NIST SRM981} = ?28.21(30)‰ was obtained, and for ERM‐EB400, a delta value of δ^208/206Pb_NIST SRM981= ?129.47(38)‰ was obtained, with the associated expanded uncertainties (k = 2) given in brackets.     

Survival and movements of Magellanic penguins rehabilitated from oil fouling along the coast of South America, 2000-2010

Oil pollution is a significant conservation concern. We examined data from six institutions along the coast of South America: Emergency Relief Team of the International Fund for Animal Welfare, Fundación Mundo Marino, Centro de Recupera??o de Animais Marinhos, Natura Patagonia, Associa??o R3 Animal, and Mar del Plata Aquarium and data from resightings in Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Falkland/Malvinas Islands. From 2000 to 2010, 2183 oiled Magellanic penguins were rehabilitated as part of the routine activities of these institutions or during emergency responses to eight oil spills in which they were involved; all rehabilitated penguins were flipper banded and released. Since their release, 41 penguins were resighted until 31 December 2011. The results demonstrate that, when combined with other prevention strategies, the rehabilitation of Magellanic penguins is a strategy that contributes to the mitigation of adverse effects of oil spills and chronic pollution to the species.     

美国西部克罗拉多Cripple Creek地区浅成低温金-碲化物矿床成因及相关之碱性火成岩

美国西部克罗拉多ＣｒｉｐｐｌｅＣｒｅｅｋ地区浅成低温金－碲化物矿床成因及相关之碱性火成岩自１８９１年发现至今，ＣｒｉｐｐｌｅＣｒｅｅｋ地区已产金６５３ｔ之多，成为全美第二大金产地．金矿床产于被元古宙基底岩石包围着的狭小的（１８ｋｍ２）渐新统火山杂岩中...     

Acidification of Earth: An assessment across mechanisms and scales

In this review article, anthropogenic activities that cause acidification of Earth’s air, waters, and soils are examined. Although there are many mechanisms of acidification, the focus is on the major ones, including emissions from combustion of fossil fuels and smelting of ores, mining of coal and metal ores, and application of nitrogen fertilizer to soils, by elucidating the underlying biogeochemical reactions as well as assessing the magnitude of the effects. These widespread activities have resulted in (1) increased CO₂ concentration in the atmosphere that acidifies the oceans; (2) acidic atmospheric deposition that acidifies soils and bodies of freshwater; (3) acid mine drainage that acidifies bodies of freshwater and groundwaters; and (4) nitrification that acidifies soils. Although natural geochemical reactions of mineral weathering and ion exchange work to buffer acidification, the slow reaction rates or the limited abundance of reactant phases are overwhelmed by the onslaught of anthropogenic acid loading. Relatively recent modifications of resource extraction and usage in some regions of the world have begun to ameliorate local acidification, but expanding use of resources in other regions is causing environmental acidification in previously unnoticed places. World maps of coal consumption, Cu mining and smelting, and N fertilizer application are presented to demonstrate the complex spatial heterogeneity of resource consumption as well as the overlap in acidifying potential derived from distinctly different phenomena. Projected population increase by country over the next four decades indicates areas with the highest potential for acidification, so enabling anticipation and planning to offset or mitigate the deleterious environmental effects associated with these global shifts in the consumption of energy, mineral, and food resources.     

The influence of oceanic conditions on the hot European summer of 2003

The summer of 2003 was the hottest on record throughout much of Europe. Understanding how the event developed and the factors that contributed to it may help us improve seasonal forecasting models and assess the risk of such events in the future. This study uses atmosphere-only model integrations and observed data to investigate the potential predictability of the climate anomalies, and in particular the impact that the warming in the Indian Ocean and Mediterranean Sea had on the development of the temperature anomalies. The model results suggest that the temperature anomalies were potentially predictable and that both Indian Ocean and Mediterranean sea surface temperature anomalies contributed to the development of the observed warm and dry anomalies over Europe. Furthermore, it was found that, in the model, the Mediterranean anomalies contributed most strongly to the warming in June and July and the Indian Ocean anomalies enabled the positive temperature anomalies to persist into August. Previously published work has described the role of the Indian monsoon in modulating the seasonal cycle in rainfall over Europe. Comparison with this work suggests a mechanism by which warming in the Indian Ocean may have contributed to the persistence of the temperature and precipitation anomalies into August.     

Processes shaping the spatial pattern and seasonality of the surface air temperature response to anthropogenic forcing

In the period 1960–2010, the land surface air temperature (SAT) warmed more rapidly over some regions relative to the global mean. Using a set of time-slice experiments, we highlight how different physical processes shape the regional pattern of SAT warming. The results indicate an essential role of anthropogenic forcing in regional SAT changes from the 1970s to 2000s, and show that both surface–atmosphere interactions and large-scale atmospheric circulation changes can shape regional responses to forcing. Single forcing experiments show that an increase in greenhouse gases can lead to regional changes in land surface warming in winter (DJF) due to snow-albedo feedbacks, and in summer (JJA) due to soil-moisture and cloud feedbacks. Changes in anthropogenic aerosol and precursor (AA) emissions induce large spatial variations in SAT, characterized by warming over western Europe, Eurasia, and Alaska. In western Europe, SAT warming is stronger in JJA than in DJF due to substantial increases in clear sky shortwave radiation over Europe, associated with decreases in local AA emissions since the 1980s. In Alaska, the amplified SAT warming in DJF is due to increased downward longwave radiation, which is related to increased water vapor and cloud cover. In this case, although the model was able to capture the regional pattern of SAT change, and the associated local processes, it did not simulate all processes and anomalies correctly. For the Alaskan warming, the model is seen to achieve the correct regional response in the context of a wider North Pacific anomaly that is not consistent with observations. This demonstrates the importance of model evaluation that goes beyond the target variable in detection and attribution studies.