More realistic soil cleanup standards with dual-equilibrium desorption

The desorption of contaminants from soils/sediments is one of the most important processes controlling contaminant transport and environmental risks. None of the currently adopted desorption models can accurately quantify desorption at relatively low concentrations; these models often overestimate the desorption and thus the risks of hydrophobic organic chemicals, such as benzene and chlorinated solvents. In reality, desorption is generally found to be biphasic, with two soil-phase compartments. A new dual-equilibrium desorption (DED) model has been developed to account for the biphasic desorption. This model has been tested using a wide range of laboratory and field data and has been used to explain key observations related to underground storage tank plumes. The DED model relates the amount of a chemical sorbed to the aqueous concentration, with simple parameters including octanol-water partition coefficient, solubility, and fractional organic carbon; thus, it is the only biphasic model, to date, that is based on readily available parameters. The DED model can be easily incorporated into standard risk and transport models. According to this model, many regulatory standards of soils and sediments could be increased without increasing the risks.     

Accuracy assessment and refinement of the JGM-2 and JGM-3 gravity fields for radial positioning of ERS-1

ERS-1 radial positioning using the JGM-2 and JGM-3 gravity fields is assessed by analysing dual crossovers with TOPEX/Poseidon, neither field containing ERS-1 data. This method allows a more complete recovery of ERS-1 radial orbit error, specifically of the previously unattainable mean geographical error. The global analysis shows that the theoretical error derived from the JGM-2 covariance matrix is realistic and that JGM-3 represents a slight improvement, at least at the inclination of ERS-1. A latitudinal-based study in the southern ocean indicates possible weaknesses in both fields, notably for low and resonant geopotential orders m. A refinement of JGM-2, RGM-2, is undertaken through inclusion of ERS-1 and STELLA laser tracking and ERS-1 altimetry, reducing several of its deficiencies. Received: 14 May 1996 / Accepted: 17 February 1997     

The sedimentation history of Lake Huron and Georgian Bay: results from analysis of seismic reflection profiles

An extensive seismic reflection profile survey conducted concurrently with a sediment coring program in northern Lake Huron, Georgian Bay, and the North Channel revealed a detailed Holocene lake level history. Seven acoustic sequences were identified in the seismic stratigraphy, and these sequences show great variation in both the character and the spatial distribution of sediment deposition through time. The depths to the acoustically-defined sequence boundaries were digitized from the analog seismic records and merged with Loran-C navigation records from the cruise, yielding a three-dimensional record of the location of each sequence boundary. Thicknesses of the sequences were calculated from these depths, and a minimum-curvature spline surface was fit to the thickness data. These surfaces were used to construct isopach maps which show the trends in thickness of sediment accumulation throughout the lake basins for each of the sequences. ¹⁴C-AMS dates of materials from the cores fixed the dates of the sediment sequence boundaries, allowing sediment accumulation rates to be calculated. The distribution of sedimentation in the basins as shown on the isopach maps allowed assessment of sediment transport and water flow through the basins over time, which when combined with the work of Lewis & Anderson (1989), provides a detailed record of the transport and drainage of water through these basins as the Wisconsinan ice sheet retreated and isostatic rebound opened and closed outlets. Reversals of flow direction through the Straits of Mackinac and through the channels connecting Lake Huron and Georgian Bay and the North Channel are indicated by changes in sediment thickness distributions.     

Behavior of the decollement at the toe of the Middle America Trench

Seismic reflection data from three areas of the Middle America Trench provide insights into the behavior of the decollement that separates subducted and offscraped sediment. The range of responses observed along this single subduction system provides clues as to how the decollement forms and is influenced by local conditions. The location of the decollement and whether or not the subducting basement topography influences the decollement are apparently controlled by the type and thickness of sediment in the trench. Where subducting basement topography and oceanic plate hemipelagic sediments are buried by sandy terrigenous turbidites, such as in the trench axis off Mexico, the decollement is localized near the base of the turbidite section. Subducting normal fault blocks in the oceanic crust control thrust ramps, and hanging wall anticlines form above the ramps.In regions of the trench where coarse terrigenous sediment is thin or absent, the decollement is localized within the incoming sediment section. Where muddy trench turbidites bury subducting topography (e.g. off Guatemala), the decollement is approximately 100 m deep and is little affected by the underlying subducting topography. The lower 200–300 meters of trench sediment and all of the pelagic sediment are subducted. Where there is no trench sediment overlying carbonate-rich oceanic plate sediments (e.g. off Costa Rica), the decollement is located within the subducting plate sediment section. The decollement is localized at a single stratigraphic level and rides up and over subducting horst blocks.

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Zusammenfassung Reflektionsseismische Daten aus drei Bereichen des Mittel-Amerika-Grabens geben Einblick in das Verhalten entlang einer Abscherung in der subduziertes und »abgeschabtes« Sediment voneinander getrennt werden. Die Daten, die entlang dieses Subduktionssystems erhalten wurden, liefern Anhaltspunkte darüber, wie sich die Abscherung bildet und wie sie von lokalen Bedingungen beeinflußt wird. Der Entstehungsort der Abscherung wird, unabhängig davon, ob die abtauchende Basementtopographie die Abscherung beeinflußt oder nicht, anscheinend von Typ und Dicke der Grabensedimente kontrolliert. Dort, wo das abtauchende Basement und die hemipelagischen Sedimente der ozeanischen Platte von sandigen, terrigenen Turbiditen überlagert werden, wie im Grabenabschnitt vor Mexico, liegt die Abscherung nahe der Basis des Turbiditprofiles. Abtauchende, normal gestörte Schollenblöcke der ozeanischen Kruste kontrollieren die Bildung von Überschiebungsrampen unter Bildung von Antiklinalen oberhalb dieser Rampen.Wo schlammige Grabenturbidite die subduzierende Topographie überdecken (z.B. vor Guatemala), liegt die Abscherung etwa 100 m unter der Sedimentoberfläche und wird kaum von der unterlagernden, abtauchenden Topographie beeinflußt. Die unteren 200–300 m der Grabensedimente sowie die gesamten pelagischen Ablagerungen werden subduziert. Wo karbonatreiche Sedimente der ozeanischen Platte nicht von Grabensedimenten überlagert werden (z.B. vor Costa Rica) liegt die Abscherung innerhalb der Sedimentsäule der abtauchenden Platte. Die Abscherung bewegt sich in einem einzigen stratigraphischen Niveau und gleitet dabei auf und über abtauchende Horstschollen.

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Résumé Des prospections par sismique-réflexion, effectuées dans trois régions de la fosse d'Amérique Centrale, éclairent le comportement du décollement qui sépare les sédiments subductés des sédiments «raclés». Les donnés recueillies le long de ce système de subduction simple fournissent des indications sur la manière dont le décollement prend naissance et est influencé par les conditions locales. L'emplacement du décollement et le fait qu'il est, ou non, influencé par la topographie du substrat en subduction dépendent, semble-t-il, de la nature et de l'épaisseur des sédiments de la fosse. Lorsque, dans la plaque océanique en subduction, la topographie du socle et les sédiments hémipélagiques surincombants sont enfouis sous des turbidites terrigènes arénacées, comme c'est le cas au large du Mexique, le décollement se produit près de la base de la série turbiditique. La subduction de blocs découpés par des failles normales dans la croûte océanique détermine des rampes de charriage au-dessus desquelles prennent naissance des structures anticlinales.Dans les parties de la fosse qui sont pauvres en sédiments terrigènes grossiers ou qui en sont dépourvues, le décollement est situé à l'intérieur de la série sédimentaire. Lorsque le relief de la plaque en subduction est enfoui sous des turbidites boueuses (p. ex. au large du Guatemala), le décollement se situe à 100 m sous la surface supérieure des sédiments et est peu affecté par la topographie du substrat subducté. La subduction affecte alors la partie inférieure (200 à 300 m) des sédiments de la fosse, ainsi que l'entièreté des sédiments pélagiques. Lorsqu'il n'y a pas de sédiments terrigènes recouvrant les dépôts carbonates de la plaque océanique (p. ex. au large de Costa Rica), le décollement se situe au sein de ces derniers; il correspond à un niveau stratigraphique et contourne par en-haut les blocs en horst de la plaque descendante.

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The effects of sliding velocity on the frictional and physical properties of heated fault gouge

The frictional properties of a crushed granite gouge and of gouges rich in montmorillonite, illite, and serpentine minerals have been investigated at temperatures as high as 600°C, confining pressures as high as 2.5 kbar, a pore pressure of 30 bar, and sliding velocities of 4.8 and 4.8×10^–2 m/sec. The gouges showed nearly identical strength behaviors at the two sliding velocities; all four gouges, however, showed a greater tendency to stick-slip movement and somewhat higher stress drops in the experiments at 4.8×10^–2 m/sec. Varying the sliding velocity also had an effect on the mineral assemblages and deformation textures developed in the heated gouges. The principal mineralogical difference was that at 400°C and 1 kbar confining pressure a serpentine breakdown reaction occurred in the experiments at 4.8×10^–2 m/sec but not in those at 4.8 m/sec. The textures developed in the gouge layers were in part functions of the gouge type and the temperature, but changes in the sliding velocity affected, among other features, the degree of mineral deformation and the orientation of some fractures.     

Transport ofBe andBe in the ocean

Beryllium isotopes (¹⁰Be and⁹Be) have been measured in suspended particles of < 1 mm size collected by mid-water sediment traps deployed in the eastern Pacific at MANOP sites H (6°32′N, 92°50′W, water depth 3600 m) and M (8°50′N, 104°00′W, 3100 m). For comparison, surface sediments from box cores taken from the two sites were also studied. The concentrations of¹⁰Be and⁹Be in sediment-trap particles are about an order of magnitude smaller than those in the bottom sediments which contain about 8 × 10⁹ and 6 × 10¹⁶ atoms g⁻¹ of¹⁰Be and⁹Be, respectively. The sediment trap samples collected from 50 m off the bottom showed significant (26–63%) contributions from resuspended bottom sediments. The¹⁰Be/⁹Be ratio in trap samples varies from 3 to 20 × 10⁻⁸. The variation may partly result from varied proportion of authigenic/detrital material. The fluxes of both isotopes exhibit a very strong seasonality. The fluxes of¹⁰Be into the traps at about 1500 m are estimated as 9 × 10⁵ and 4 × 10⁵ atoms cm⁻² a⁻¹ at sites H and M respectively. These values are to be compared with the fluxes into the sediments of 4–5 × 10⁵ atoms cm⁻² a⁻¹ at both locations. Good correlations exist between¹⁰Be,⁹Be and²⁷Al indicating that the primary carrier phase(s) for the beryllium isotopes in the water column may be aluminosilicates.     

Distribution and abundance of submerged aquatic vegetation in Chesapeake Bay: An historical perspective

An historical summary of the distribution and abundance of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) in the Chesapeake Bay is presented. Evidence suggests that SAV has generally been common throughout the bay over the last several hundred years with several fluctuations in abundance. The decline ofZostera marina (eelgrass) in the 1930’s and the rapid expansion ofMyriophyllum spicatum (watermilfoil) in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s were two significant events involving a single species. Since 1965, however, there has been a significant reduction of all species in most sections of the bay. Declines were first observed in the Patuxent, Potomac and sections of other rivers in the Maryland portion of the Bay between 1965 and 1970. Dramatic reductions were observed over the entire length of the bay from 1970 to 1975. Particularly severe losses were observed at the head of the bay around Susquehanna Flats as well as in numerous rivers along Maryland’s eastern and western shores. Changes in the lower, Virginia portion of the bay occurred primarily in the western tributaries. Greatest losses of vegetation occurred in the years following Tropical Storm Agnes in 1972. Since 1975 little regrowth has been observed in the Chesapeake Bay. Other areas along the Atlantic Coast of the U.S. during the same period have experienced no similar widespread decline. It thus appears that the factors affecting the recent changes in distribution and abundance of submerged vegetation in the bay are regional in nature. Causes for this decline may be related to changes in water quality, primarily increased eutrophication and turbidity.     

Vertical profile of artificial radionuclide concentrations in the Central Arctic Ocean

The artificial radionuclides ⁹⁰Sr, ¹³⁷Cs, ²³⁸Pu, ^239,240Pu and ²⁴¹Am have been measured in eight water samples collected in 1979, at intervals from surface to bottom, through the ice at the LOREX satellite camp SS near the North Pole. Differences in the concentrations and ratios of these nuclides, compared with values measured, over time, in the various water masses that flow into the Arctic Ocean, can be used as semi-independent checks on rates of flow to the LOREX stations and on residence times in the Arctic Ocean. An unexpected finding was that water labelled with low-level liquid waste from the Windscale plant on the Irish Sea is a major component of the 1500 m LOREX sample, and has reached there in no more than eight to ten years. Even from this one station in the Polar Ocean, estimation of the inventories of the various radionuclides is good enough to emphasize the importance of horizontal advection of the various supply terms to the Arctic.     

Dissolved-particulate interactions of aluminium in ocean waters

Two N. Atlantic profiles of dissolved Al are reported, they show an increase in Al concentration with depth as reported previously for the central Arctic Ocean (Moore, 1981) and for the N.W. Atlantic below 1000 m (Hydes, 1979). Laboratory experiments were carried out to investigate the effect of pressure on the equilibrium between dissolved Al and pelagic, red clays. These studies showed an increase in dissolved Al with increasing pressure; e.g. at 1000 atm. the concentration of Al in solution increased by about 30% in two days. It was also observed that when the pressure was released the excess dissolved Al was rapidly removed from solution onto the clays. Calculations of the effect of pressure on the equilibrium concentration of Al in the presence of Gibbsite show that the dissolution should be favoured by a pressure increase. Laboratory leaching experiments using dilute acid were also undertaken to assess the mobility of Al in atmospheric particulates. The results suggest that a significant proportion, up to 20%, of the Al is not strongly bound in mineral lattices: this figure represents the upper limit for the leachable fraction which greatly exceeds earlier estimates.These results improve our understanding of Al marine geochemistry by emphasising the importance of inorganic rather than biological processes in determining its oceanic distribution.