Comments on EPA Guidance for Ground Water Studies

"The panel provided good, solid, interdisciplinary advice on a variety of challenging, state-of-the-art issues."     

Europeans Test Pesticide Models

This column focuses on recent work in Europe. The intent is to present to American readers relevant studies they would not normally see. Much of the following was presented at the 9th International Congress of Pesticide Chemistry last summer in London. The congress was jointly sponsored by the International Union of Pure & Applied Chemistry and the Royal Society of Chemistry.     

Comparison of vegetation and stream sediment geochemical patterns in northeastern New South Wales

This study compares the geochemical response of stream sediments and adjacent vegetation samples, with variations in drainage catchment lithology and the occurrence of mineralisation, within a 14,000-km² block of the northeastern region of New South Wales, Australia. The area contains a range of lithologies within a Devonian–Permian accretionary complex and Mesozoic sedimentary basin, as well as a wide range of mineral deposits. Sampling was designed to confine each sub-catchment to a single lithological group (mafic and ultramafic rocks, acid intrusives, volcanics, metasedimentary and sedimentary rocks or alluvium). Leaves of over 20 genera, dominated by (Allo-)Casuarina, Eucalyptus, Acacia, Callistemon and Melaleuca, and the <250-μm fraction of the stream sediments were analysed by INAA. The uptake of most trace elements varied between genera, with Callistemon displaying the highest median As and La contents and Eucalyptus the highest Co contents. The stream sediment and vegetation geochemistry reflect both hydromorphic and mechanical dispersion within sub-catchments, with regional patterns dominant over local influences. The vegetation appears to be influenced to a greater extent by hydromorphic dispersion, as indicated by differences in the ratio of leaf to sediment Cr concentrations in sub-catchments draining serpentinites and basalts. Although most known mineral deposits in the region produced anomalies in at least one medium, there was little correlation between the trace element concentrations of the vegetation and stream sediments on a site-by-site basis. A number of Au targets were only detected on the basis of the biogeochemistry and others were only reflected in the stream sediment geochemistry. In general, vegetation displayed more extensive dispersion trains away from mineralisation than did the stream sediments. Differences in the response of the two sampling media suggest their joint use in exploration or environmental surveys to maximise the probability of detecting mineralisation.     

Slowness-domain kinematical characteristics for horizontally layered orthorhombic media. Part II: Pre-critical slowness match

Part II of this paper is a direct continuation of Part I, where we consider the same types of orthorhombic layered media and the same types of pure-mode and converted waves. Like in Part I, the approximations for the slowness-domain kinematical characteristics are obtained by combining power series coefficients in the vicinity of both the normal-incidence ray and an additional wide-angle ray. In Part I, the wide-angle ray was set to be the critical ray (‘critical slowness match’), whereas in Part II we consider a finite long offset associated with a given pre-critical ray (‘pre-critical slowness match’). Unlike the critical slowness match, the approximations in the pre-critical slowness match are valid only within the bounded slowness range; however, the accuracy within the defined range is higher. Moreover, for the pre-critical slowness match, there is no need to distinguish between the high-velocity layer and the other, low-velocity layers. The form of the approximations in both critical and pre-critical slowness matches is the same, where only the wide-angle power series coefficients are different. Comparing the approximated kinematical characteristics with those obtained by exact numerical ray tracing, we demonstrate high accuracy. Furthermore, we show that for all wave types, the accuracy of the pre-critical slowness match is essentially higher than that of the critical slowness match, even for matching slowness values close to the critical slowness. Both approaches can be valuable for implementation, depending on the target offset range and the nature of the subsurface model. The pre-critical slowness match is more accurate for simulating reflection data with conventional offsets. The critical slowness match can be attractive for models with a dominant high-velocity layer, for simulating, for example, refraction events with very long offsets.     

Characteristics of magnetic and non-magnetic lag in the Cobar area, NSW

Geochemical patterns from two lag anomalies in the Cobar region of central New South Wales are described. The region is semi-arid, deeply weathered and some areas are covered by variable thicknesses of aeolian and alluvial transported overburden.Lag morphology and mineralogy are related to landform. In erosional landforms the surface is covered by lag, which is composed of coarse fragments derived locally from bedrock and displays varying degrees of ferruginization, together with a range of secondary pisoids. In depositional landforms the lag is less abundant and contains more pisoids. Deflation by sheetwash may lead to lag being partially buried by alluvium. In a large proportion of pisoid lag, hematite and goethite have been converted to maghemite, allowing ready separation into magnetic and non-magnetic fractions. The non-magnetic fraction is dominated by the lithic lag whereas the magnetic fraction is dominated by pisoid lag.The magnetic and non-magnetic components of the 2–11 mm lag fraction, milled to < 75 μm and subjected to HF-HNO₃-HClO₄ attack, give rise to distinct geochemical patterns at targets related to a variant of the Cobar style of Pb-Zn mineralization with variable silicification and to Zn mineralization in a swarm of quartz and carbonate veinlets. The patterns are influenced by metal source, lag type, surface chemical conditions and landtbrm. Differences in the correlation between metal contents in the magnetic and non-magnetic lag components, and between trace elements and Fe. indicate variable loss of Cu and Zn from the magnetic lag at some targets but retention of Pb. The presence of a readily cxtractable base metal component in the lag has implications for detecting anomalies in transported cover in the region.     

Moveout approximation for horizontal transversely isotropic and vertical transversely isotropic layered medium. Part I: 1D ray propagation‡

Anisotropy in subsurface geological models is primarily caused by two factors: sedimentation in shale/sand layers and fractures. The sedimentation factor is mainly modelled by vertical transverse isotropy (VTI), whereas the fractures are modelled by a horizontal transversely isotropic medium (HTI). In this paper we study hyperbolic and non‐hyperbolic normal reflection moveout for a package of HTI/VTI layers, considering arbitrary azimuthal orientation of the symmetry axis at each HTI layer. We consider a local 1D medium, whose properties change vertically, with flat interfaces between the layers. In this case, the horizontal slowness is preserved; thus, the azimuth of the phase velocity is the same for all layers of the package. In general, however, the azimuth of the ray velocity differs from the azimuth of the phase velocity. The ray azimuth depends on the layer properties and may be different for each layer. In this case, the use of the Dix equation requires projection of the moveout velocity of each layer on the phase plane. We derive an accurate equation for hyperbolic and high‐order terms of the normal moveout, relating the traveltime to the surface offset, or alternatively, to the subsurface reflection angle. We relate the azimuth of the surface offset to its magnitude (or to the reflection angle), considering short and long offsets. We compare the derived approximations with analytical ray tracing.     

Computation of the key parameters of radio signals propagating through a perturbed ionosphere in the land-satellite channel

An analysis of the key parameters of HF/UHF radio signals was carried out for land-satellite radio channels, which determine the effects of fading in a perturbed ionosphere. Using the parameters of the perturbed plasma, the effects of the absorption and phase fluctuations of radio signals are analyzed for a channel with fading. For the evaluation of the effect of scattering of a radio signal by ionospheric inhomogeneities in an approximation of small-scale scintillations, expressions for the root-mean-square (RMS) magnitude of signal intensity and phase scintillations are presented. Scintillation index σ _I ² that corresponds to variations in a signal under the conditions of multipath propagation with fading is investigated by using experimental data. It is shown that roughly ～10% of inhomogeneities of the electron concentration in the F region of the ionosphere, perturbed during a magnetic storm, yield strong quickly fading radio signals in the VHF/UHF range with significant fluctuations (up to 1%) in the intensity of the signal and phase fluctuations (up to hundreds of radians). The calculated magnitudes of the scintillation index are in good agreement with experimentally observed data.     

Recent paleorecords document rising mercury contamination in Lake Tanganyika

Recent Lake Tanganyika Hg deposition records were derived using ¹⁴C and excess ²¹⁰Pb geochronometers in sediment cores collected from two contrasting depositional environments: the Kalya Platform, located mid-lake and more removed from watershed impacts, and the Nyasanga/Kahama River delta region, located close to the lake’s shoreline north of Kigoma. At the Kalya Platform area, pre-industrial Hg concentrations are 23 ± 0.2 ng/g, increasing to 74 ng/g in modern surface sediment, and the Hg accumulation rate has increased from 1.0 to 7.2 μg/m²/a from pre-industrial to present, which overall represents a 6-fold increase in Hg concentration and accumulation. At the Nyasanga/Kahama delta region, pre-industrial Hg concentrations are 20 ± 3 ng/g, increasing to 46 ng/g in surface sediment. Mercury accumulation rate has increased from 30 to 70 μg/m²/a at this site, representing a 2–3-fold increase in Hg concentration and accumulation. There is a lack of correlation between charcoal abundance and Hg accumulation rate in the sediment cores, demonstrating that local biomass burning has little relationship with the observed Hg concentration or Hg accumulation rates. Examined using a sediment focusing-corrected mass accumulation rate approach, the cores have similar anthropogenic atmospheric Hg deposition profiles, suggesting that after accounting for background sediment concentrations the source of accumulating Hg is predominantly atmospheric in origin. In summary, the data document an increase of Hg flux to the Lake Tanganyika ecosystem that is consistent with increasing watershed sediment delivery with background-level Hg contamination, and regional as well as global increases in atmospheric Hg deposition.     

Direct observations of bipolar outflow from HM sagittae

We observed HM Sagittae with theMulti-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN) at 6 cm and 18cm. We find non-thermal bipolar outflow in the eastwest direction, associated with optical emission lines, and thermal ridges to the north and south associated with the UV nebulosity detected by the HST.