Partitioning of dioxins (PCDDs/Fs) in ambient air at urban residential locations

In this work, 17-polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin/furan (PCDD/Fs) isomers were measured in ambient air at four urban sites in Seoul, Korea (from February to June 2009). The concentrations of their summed values (ΣPCDD/Fs) across all four sites ranged from 1,947 (271 WHO₀₅ TEQ) (Jong Ro) to 2,600 (349 WHO₀₅ TEQ) fg/m³ (Yang Jae) with a mean of 2,125 (± 317) fg/m³ (292 WHO₀₅ TEQ fg/m³). The sum values for the two isomer groups of ΣPCDD and ΣPCDF were 527 (30 WHO₀₅ TEQ) and 1,598 (263 WHO₀₅ TEQ) fg/m³, respectively. The concentration profile of individual species was dominated by the 2,3,4,7,8-PeCDF isomer, which contributed approximately 36 % of the ΣPCDD/Fs value. The observed temporal trends in PCDD/F concentrations were characterized by relative enhancement in the winter and spring. The relative contribution of different sources, when assessed by principal component analysis, is explained by the dominance of vehicular emissions along with coal (or gas) burning as the key source of ambient PCDD/Fs in the residential areas studied.     

Sandstone alterations triggered by fire-related temperatures

The aim of the study was to identify and describe changes in two different sandstone types when undergoing different environmental and extreme temperature regimes to assess the possibility of finding insolation weathering and how these sandstones would behave during and after a fire. The first step was the simulation in the laboratory of temperature regimes up to 60 °C which would correspond to extreme events that could be found in insolation cycles even in Central Europe and the second one was the temperature above 200 °C simulating in laboratory conditions the thermal regime of a potential fire situation at temperatures up to 200, 400, 600 and 800 °C. Heating the samples above 400 °C led to gradual changes in mineral composition, colour, surface roughness and physical properties reaching, eventually, total rock breakdown through spalling and granular disaggregation. The different behaviour of sandstones exposed to high temperatures is mainly caused by their different mineral composition with various ratios of minerals that are more or less chemically stable at high temperatures as well as by the differences in the porosity.     

Influences of mulching durations on soil erosion and nutrient losses in a peanut (Arachis hypogaea)-cultivated land

Plastic film mulching is widely employed to improve crop yields. Mulching for the entire crop growth period is a widespread practice. However, a shorter plastic film mulching duration is suggested for obtaining larger grain yield recently. To quantify the effects of plastic film mulching durations on soil erosion and nutrient losses, a three-treatment experiment with three replicates was constructed in field. The designed treatments were control (M0, non-mulched treatment), mulching from sowing to the end of the peanut pod-setting stage (M1) and pod-filling stage (M2). Plastic film mulching significantly increased the mean runoff and sediment yield. With film mulching, the mean runoff and soil losses among M1 and M2 treatments had no significant difference, and significantly larger than that in M0 treatment. After mulching removing, there were no significant differences between the mean runoff and soil losses of M0 and M1 treatments. Compared with the M2 treatment, the M0 treatment had significantly reduced mean runoff and soil losses of all the events. Non-mulching increased the total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) losses. The M0 treatment had the highest TN (23.0 mg m^?2) and TP (3.02 mg m^?2) losses in the three treatments. The M2 treatment significantly reduced the TN and TP losses. In conclusion, mulching from sowing to the end of pod-setting stage was suggested as the appropriate choice for the largest yield and less soil erosion. But, some soil conservation measurements should be taken in furrow areas to effectively reduce soil erosion, under the condition of film mulching.     

A study of suffusion kinetics inspired from experimental data: comparison of three different approaches

Acta Geotechnica - Suffusion is a complex phenomenon characterized by a selective migration of the fine particles under the effect of three coupled processes: detachment, transport and possible...     

The Gagarka gold deposit in the central Urals, Russia

The Gagarka gold deposit was formed in two stages. The gold-telluride ore of the main early stage was formed ～260 Ma ago synchronously with Permian collision, which was accompanied by retrograde metamorphism with mobilization of Au and Te from geochemically similar massive sulfide lodes in the rift zone. The Au-bearing argillic metasomatic rocks of the late stage presumably Mesozoic in age are distinguished by specific geochemistry and locally superposed on the ore related to the early stage. The upper part of the metasomatic column consists of quartz-kaolinite rock, which is confused in many cases with products of Mesozoic-Cenozoic weathering and because of this is not perceived as a guide for hidden Au-bearing argillic alteration, whose resource potential remains underestimated in the Urals.     

Development of groundwater modeling for the Azraq Basin, Jordan

 The three-dimensional groundwater flow model MODFLOW was applied to simulate water level change in the complex multi-aquifer systems (the Upper and Middle Aquifers) of the Azraq basin. The model was calibrated by matching observed and simulated drawdown for steady and transient states over the period 1970–1992. Drawdown data for the period 1993–1997 were used to test the model's ability to predict the response of the aquifers. The model performed well in representing the water level contours of the Upper and Middle Aquifers for steady state calibration. Agreement between the observed and simulated drawdowns was obtained for transient state calibration. To predict the aquifer system responses for the period of 1997–2025, four different pumping schemes (scenarios) have been investigated. The first scenario (present pumping rate) reveals that there will be approximately a 25 m drop in the water level at the well-field area in 2025. However, the worst scenario (pumping rate at 1.5 times the present rate) reveals an approximate 39 m drop in the water level at the well-field area in 2025. The safe yield for the Upper Aquifer System was found to be about 25 million cubic meters (MCM) yearly. Received: 24 June 1999 · Accepted: 30 November 1999     

Health risk of heavy metals from vegetables irrigated with sewage water in peri-urban of Dera Ismail Khan,Pakistan

Health risks of heavy metals in vegetables irrigated with sewage water were investigated in the present study. The findings indicated a massive accumulation of heavy metals in soil and vegetables collected from Dera Ismail khan, Pakistan. The concentration levels of heavy metal in vegetables grown on soil irrigated with untreated sewage water were significantly higher at (P ≤ 0.001) than in vegetables grown on fresh-water-irrigated soil and proceeded the recommended limits of World health organization. Moreover, the findings also indicated that the adults and children consuming such vegetables ingested a large proportion of the selected toxic metals. Health risk index was greater than one for Pb and Cd in all the selected vegetables and was greater than one for Ni in three vegetables like Spinacia oleracea, Benincasa fistulosa and Lactuca sativa. Health risk assessment would be a useful tool for information regarding any threats of heavy metals contamination in vegetables.     

210Pb and 7Be as Tracers for Aerosol Transfers at Center Guizhou，China：Ⅰ．The Explanation by Weekly Interval

It′s essential to measure air concentrations and depositional fluxes of environmental radionuclides in different regions for modeling global contamination transfer and validation, tracing deposition process and dating, referencing watershed erosion trace and assessing natural radiation of ecosystem. This study introduces the research background and methods and explains weekly variations of ²¹⁰Pb and ⁷Be concentrations in surface air and precipitation at Mt. Guanfeng/Guiyang since 2001. The results indicate that ²¹⁰Pb and ⁷Be concentrations in surface air fluctuate periodically at 2~6 week interval because of the meteorological condition changes. The annual trend in ²¹⁰Pb air concentration is overall influenced by air temperature variation and periodical rainfall. ⁷Be air concentration varies up and down regualarly. The synchronization of low concentrations for both ²¹⁰Pb and ⁷Be in surface air and high ratio (²¹⁰Pb/⁷Be ≥ 0.8) indicate oceanic poor ²¹⁰Pb-⁷Be air mass invasion. The synchronization of high concentrations of ²¹⁰Pb and ⁷Be in surface air and low ratio (²¹⁰Pb/⁷Be ≤ 0.7) implies rich ⁷Be air mass invasion from altostratus atmosphere. Weekly concentrations of ²¹⁰Pb and ⁷Be in precipitation and the K_d coefficients are high in late Autumn to Spring, and low in late Spring to Autumn. Although ²¹⁰Pb and ⁷Be concentrations vary seasonally, their weekly concentrations in precipitation increase with that of air concentration. The ²¹⁰Pb and ⁷Be weekly concentrations for seasonal division is about 0.2 Bq/L and 1 Bq/L, respectively. However, the K_d coefficient decreases when ²¹⁰Pb and ⁷Be air concentrations increase. Deposition of ²¹⁰Pb and ⁷Be with precipitation mainly take place in Spring and Summer; The weekly fallout of ²¹⁰Pb and ⁷Be increases with increasing precipitation; the increase of ⁷Be is triple of that of ²¹⁰Pb and 2.5 when precipitation nears to zero. The weekly-high fallout of ²¹⁰Pb and ⁷Be with precipitation corresponds with the dramatic decrease of their air concentrations within or vicinal weeks. The ratio of ²¹⁰Pb to ⁷Be in rainfall is overall ≤ 0.5 and varies synchronously with the ratio in surface air, indicating that the two radionuclides are cleaned by precipitation from air at close speed. In the extreme freezing disaster in 2008, both ²¹⁰Pb and ⁷Be air concentrations were low and coupling with coexist of low concentration of aerosol and high nuclides activities. Weekly concentration of ⁷Be in surface air at Mt. Guanfeng demonstrates the anticipated concentration level in the low-latitude and high-elevation region; the short-term fluctuations of ⁷Be concentration indicated the hysteresis was influcenced by the strong air current submersion and the low-elevation air mass rising differently at Mt. Guanfeng and Mt. Waliguan.      

Palaeomagnetic results from the ca. 1130 Ma Borgmassivet intrusions in the Ahlmannryggen region of Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica, and tectonic implications

Detailed palaeomagnetic and rock magnetic analyses provide improved palaeomagnetic results from 23 sites in the Borgmassivet intrusions in the Ahlmannryggen region of Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica. These intrusions are of similar age to their host, the ca. 1130 Ma Ritscherflya Supergroup (RSG). A mean direction of D=235.4°, I=−7.6° with k=45.9 and α₉₅=4.5° was obtained from this study. When combined with previously reported results from 11 sites in the same region, including sites from the Ritscherflya Supergroup, it gives an overall mean direction for 34 sites from the igneous suite with D=236.5°, I=−3.6°, k=27.9 and α₉₅=4.8°. Isothermal remanent magnetization (IRM) experiments on several specimens suggest magnetite or titanomagnetite as the primary remanence carrier, while high temperature magnetic susceptibility experiments indicate the presence of single domain particles. These observations, together with field evidence and the high coercivities and unblocking temperatures, support a primary origin for the observed characteristic remanence. The Borgmassivet palaeomagnetic pole lies at 54.5°E, 8.3°N with A₉₅=3.3°. If Antarctica is moved to its Gondwanan position adjacent to southeast Africa, the Borgmassivet pole (BM) coincides with that of the African well-established, well-dated (1100 Ma) Umkondo Large Igneous Province pole, supporting the hypothesis that the Grunehogna craton of Dronning Maud Land was part of the Kalahari craton of southern Africa at ca. 1100 Ma.