Arsenic and antimony contamination of waters,stream sediments and soils in the vicinity of abandoned antimony mines in the Western Carpathians,Slovakia

Environmental contamination with As and Sb caused by past mining activities at Sb mines is a significant problem in Slovakia. This study is focused on the environmental effects of the 5 abandoned Sb mines on water, stream sediment and soil since the mines are situated in the close vicinity of residential areas. Samples of mine wastes, various types of waters, stream sediments, soils, and leachates of the mine wastes, stream sediments and selected soils were analyzed for As and Sb to evaluate their geochemical dispersion from the mines. Mine wastes collected at the mine sites contained up to 5166 mg/kg As and 9861 mg/kg Sb. Arsenic in mine wastes was associated mostly with Fe oxides, whereas Sb was present frequently in the form of individual Sb, Sb(Fe) and Fe(Sb) oxides. Waters of different types such as groundwater, surface waters and mine waters, all contained elevated concentrations of As and Sb, reaching up to 2150 μg/L As and 9300 μg/L Sb, and had circum-neutral pH values because of the buffering capacity of abundant Ca- and Mg-carbonates. The concentrations of Sb in several household wells are a cause for concern, exceeding the Sb drinking water limit of 5 μg/L by as much as 25 times. Some attenuation of the As and Sb concentrations in mine and impoundment waters was expected because of the deposition of metalloids onto hydrous ferric oxides built up below adit entrances and impoundment discharges. These HFOs contained >20 wt.% As and 1.5 wt.% Sb. Stream sediments and soils have also been contaminated by As and Sb with the peak concentrations generally found near open adits and mine wastes. In addition to the discharged waters from open adits, the significant source of As and Sb contamination are waste-rock dumps and tailings impoundments. Leachates from mine wastes contained as much as 8400 μg/L As and 4060 μg/L Sb, suggesting that the mine wastes would have a great potential to contaminate the downstream environment. Moreover, the results of water leaching tests showed that Sb was released from the solids more efficiently than As under oxidizing conditions. This might partly explain the predominance of Sb over As in most water samples.     

Lower crustal melting and the role of open-system processes in the genesis of syn-orogenic quartz diorite–granite–leucogranite associations: constraints from Sr–Nd–O isotopes from the Bandombaai Complex, Namibia

The Bandombaai Complex (southern Kaoko Belt, Namibia) consists of three main intrusive rock types including metaluminous hornblende- and sphene-bearing quartz diorites, allanite-bearing granodiorites and granites, and peraluminous garnet- and muscovite-bearing leucogranites. Intrusion of the quartz diorites is constrained by a U–Pb zircon age of 540±3 Ma.

Quartz diorites, granodiorites and granites display heterogeneous initial Nd- and O isotope compositions (_{Nd (540 Ma)}=−6.3 to −19.8; δ¹⁸O=9.0–11.6‰) but rather low and uniform initial Sr isotope compositions (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr_initial=0.70794–0.70982). Two leucogranites and one aplite have higher initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios (0.70828–0.71559), but similar initial _Nd (−11.9 to −15.8) and oxygen isotope values (10.5–12.9‰). The geochemical and isotopic characteristics of the Bandombaai Complex are distinct from other granitoids of the Kaoko Belt and the Central Zone of the Damara orogen. Our study suggests that the quartz diorites of the Bandombaai Complex are generated by melting of heterogeneous mafic lower crust. Based on a comparison with results from amphibolite-dehydration melting experiments, a lower crustal garnet- and amphibole-bearing metabasalt, probably enriched in K₂O, is a likely source rock for the quartz diorites. The granodiorites/granites show low Rb/Sr (<0.6) ratios and are probably generated by partial melting of meta-igneous (intermediate) lower crustal sources by amphibole-dehydration melting. Most of the leucogranites display higher Rb/Sr ratios (>1) and are most likely generated by biotite-dehydration melting of heterogeneous felsic lower crust. All segments of the lower crust underwent partial melting during the Pan-African orogeny at a time (540 Ma) when the middle crust of the central Damara orogen also underwent high T, medium P regional metamorphism and melting. Geochemical and isotope data from the Bandombaai Complex suggest that the Pan-African orogeny in this part of the orogen was not a major crust-forming episode. Instead, even the most primitive rock types of the region, the quartz diorites, represent recycled lower crustal material.     

Book review of ENCYCLOPEDIA OF NONLINEAR SCIENCE,edited by Alwyn Scott,Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group, 2005, VII +1053 pp., 135, $225 hardback (ISBN 1-57958-385-7).

We present three-dimensional (3D) solutions of the magnetohydrostatic equations in the co-rotating frame of reference outside a magnetized rigidly rotating cylinder. We make no symmetry assumption for the magnetic field, but to be able to make analytical progress we neglect outflows and specify a particular form for the current density. The magnetohydrostatic equations can then be reduced to a single linear partial differential equation for a pseudo-potential U, from which the magnetic field can be calculated by differentiation. The equation for U can be solved by standard methods. The solutions can also be used to determine the plasma pressure, density and temperature as functions of all three spatial coordinates. Despite the obvious limitations of this approach, it can, for example, be used as a simple tool to create 3D models for the closed field line regions of rotating magnetospheres without rotational symmetry.     

Chemistry,mineralogy and petrology of an eclogite from the type locality (Saualpe,Austria)

An eclogite and five of its coexisting minerals (omphacite, garnet, carinthine, kyanite and zoisite) from the probable type locality of eclogites (Kupplerbrunn, Saualpe, Austria) described by Haüy (1822) have been analysed. Optical and X-ray data for these minerals are also given. Comparison of the Kupplerbrunn rock with those of other eclogites from the Saualpe region indicates they all have roughly similar compositions. When plotted on an A-C-F diagram the majority of these analyses fall in the region of kyanite-bearing eclogites suggested by Tilley (1936) although the Kupplerbrunn rock is the only sample containing kyanite; the others containing zoisite. The garnet and omphacite compositions of the Kupplerbrunn rock differ markedly from those of other Saualpe eclogites, possibly due to different metamorphic conditions of their formation. Carinthine analyses are all very similar for eclogites from Saualpe. On the basis of geological, analytical and limited experimental evidence, it is postulated that the Kupplerbrunn eclogite was derived from an original gabbroic rock low in water content such that amphibole and zoisite formed from plagioclase, pyroxene and water; omphacite, garnet and kyanite formed from plagioclase and pyroxene, once all the water was used up in the form of amphibole and zoisite. These reactions are believed to have taken place at 5–8 kb pressure at around 600° C; a value close to that suggested by Lodemann (1966) from field data.     

Molecular H2O in armenite, BaCa2Al6Si9O30·2H2O, and epididymite, Na2Be2Si6O15·H2O: Heat capacity, entropy and local-bonding behavior of confined H2O in microporous silicates

Armenite, ideal formula BaCa₂Al₆Si₉O₃₀·2H₂O, and its dehydrated analog BaCa₂Al₆Si₉O₃₀ and epididymite, ideal formula Na₂Be₂Si₆O₁₅·H₂O, and its dehydrated analog Na₂Be₂Si₆O₁₅ were studied by low-temperature relaxation calorimetry between 5 and 300 K to determine the heat capacity, C_p, behavior of their confined H₂O. Differential thermal analysis and thermogravimetry measurements, FTIR spectroscopy, electron microprobe analysis and powder Rietveld refinements were undertaken to characterize the phases and the local environment around the H₂O molecule.The determined structural formula for armenite is Ba_0.88(0.01)Ca_1.99(0.02)Na_0.04(0.01)Al_5.89(0.03)Si_9.12(0.02)O₃₀·2H₂O and for epididymite Na_1.88(0.03)K_0.05(0.004)Na_0.01(0.004)Be_2.02(0.008)Si_6.00(0.01)O₁₅·H₂O. The infrared (IR) spectra give information on the nature of the H₂O molecules in the natural phases via their H₂O stretching and bending vibrations, which in the case of epididymite only could be assigned. The powder X-ray diffraction data show that armenite and its dehydrated analog have similar structures, whereas in the case of epididymite there are structural differences between the natural and dehydrated phases. This is also reflected in the lattice IR mode behavior, as observed for the natural phases and the H₂O-free phases. The standard entropy at 298 K for armenite is S° = 795.7 ± 6.2 J/mol K and its dehydrated analog is S° = 737.0 ± 6.2 J/mol K. For epididymite S° = 425.7 ± 4.1 J/mol K was obtained and its dehydrated analog has S° = 372.5 ± 5.0 J/mol K. The heat capacity and entropy of dehydration at 298 K are Δ = 3.4 J/mol K and ΔS^rxn = 319.1 J/mol K and Δ = −14.3 J/mol K and ΔS^rxn = 135.7 J/mol K for armenite and epididymite, respectively. The H₂O molecules in both phases appear to be ordered. They are held in place via an ion-dipole interaction between the H₂O molecule and a Ca cation in the case of armenite and a Na cation in epididymite and through hydrogen-bonding between the H₂O molecule and oxygen atoms of the respective silicate frameworks. Of the three different H₂O phases ice, liquid water and steam, the C_p behavior of confined H₂O in both armenite and epididymite is most similar to that of ice, but there are differences between the two silicates and from the C_p behavior of ice. Hydrogen-bonding behavior and its relation to the entropy of confined H₂O at 298 K is analyzed for various microporous silicates.The entropy of confined H₂O at 298 K in various silicates increases approximately linearly with increasing average wavenumber of the OH-stretching vibrations. The interpretation is that decreased hydrogen-bonding strength between a H₂O molecule and the silicate framework, as well as weak ion-dipole interactions, results in increased entropy of H₂O. This results in increased amplitudes of external H₂O vibrations, especially translations of the molecule, and they contribute strongly to the entropy of confined H₂O at T < 298 K.     

Implications of experimental petrology to the evolution of ultrapotassic rocks

The contributions of experimental studies pertinent to ultrapotassic rocks of Groups I (lamproites) and II (kamafugites and related rocks) are discussed in terms of synthetic systems, ultrapotassic rock compositions, experiments on characteristic minerals in these rocks and experiments designed to model mantle metasomatism. These studies indicate that the majority of ultrapotassic magmas are derived by partial melting of a metasomatically enriched mantle source at depths of 100 km or greater, and under fluid conditions represented by the C---O---H system with fluorine that may be reduced or oxidized relative to other compositions. Many lamproitic magmas may be derived from a phlogopite-harzburgite with volatiles that are predominantly H₂O and F₁ whereas kamafugitic type ultrapotassic magmas may be products of partial melts of a more wehrlitic mantle source in which the main volatiles are H₂O, CO₂ and possibly F. Experimental and theoretical considerations of mantle metasomatism suggest that it occurs at of f_O2 in the range of the FMQ buffer. Metasomatism involves low density mantle fluids (melts?) in which H₂O and CO₂ are the important volatiles, buffered by amphibole, phlogopite and carbonates. Results of recent experiments suggest that the reactions causing metasomatism may be decoupled and cyclic and occur at different depths.     

Trade, transport, and sinks extend the carbon dioxide responsibility of countries: An editorial essay

Sea-level rise (SLR) due to climate change is a serious global threat: The scientific evidence is now overwhelming. Continued growth of greenhouse gas emissions and associated global warming could well promote SLR of 1 m in this century, and unexpectedly rapid breakup of the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets might produce a 3–5 m SLR. In this paper, we assess the consequences of continued SLR for 84 coastal developing countries. Geographic Information System (GIS) software has been used to overlay the best available, spatially disaggregated global data on critical impact elements (land, population, agriculture, urban extent, wetlands, and GDP), with the inundation zones projected for 1–5 m SLR. Our results reveal that tens of millions of people in the developing world are likely to be displaced by SLR within this century; and accompanying economic and ecological damage will be severe for many. At the country level results are extremely skewed, with severe impacts limited to a relatively small number of countries.     

Effect of moisture content on ammonia emissions from broiler litter: A laboratory study

A dynamic flow-through chamber system was designed to measure ammonia emissions from broiler litter and to investigate the responses of ammonia emissions to litter moisture content under laboratory-controlled conditions. It was observed that ammonia emissions from litter were very sensitive to litter moisture content. As water was added to the litter, the total ammoniac nitrogen content (TAN) in the litter increased, and can potentially increase ammonia emissions. However, measurements of ammonia concentrations in the chamber and total nitrogen losses from litter samples all suggested that water applied to the litter also had an effect of suppressing ammonia emissions for a short time. After enough time (1 to 2 weeks) was allowed, higher moisture content in litter eventually resulted in higher ammonia emissions. It was also noticed that, at very high litter moisture content, even when more time was allowed, ammonia concentrations began to decrease as moisture content further increased.