A kinetic approach to describe trace-element distribution between particles and solution in natural aquatic systems

The partitioning of radioactive trace elements between seawater and particulate matter from surface sediments and sediment traps was investigated in laboratory experiments. For the elements Na, Zn, Se, Sr, Cd, Sn, Sb, Cs, Ba, Hg, Th and Pa (group I) constant distribution coefficients (K_d) were found after a few days of equilibration, whereas the elements Be, Mn, Co and Fe (group II) showed an increasing K_d over the whole time of observation of 108 days. The time dependence of K_d is described by an adsorption-desorption equilibrium (group I elements), followed by a lattice transport reaction step (group II elements). The reaction rate constants are compared to Mn oxidation rates and to adsorption rate constants derived from in situ measurements of the $\text{U}\text{Th}$ disequilibrium as available from literature.     

Sublethal Effects of Crude Oil on the Community Structure of Estuarine Phytoplankton

While the ecological impacts of crude oil exposure have been widely studied, its sublethal effects on phytoplankton community structure in salt marsh estuaries have not been well documented. The purpose of this study was to simulate oil spill conditions using a microcosm design to examine short-term (2 day) changes in phytoplankton community composition and total biomass following exposure to crude oil obtained from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and a mixture of Texas crude oils. Microcosm experiments were performed in situ in North Inlet Estuary near Georgetown, SC. A control and six replicated experimental treatments of crude oil additions at final concentrations of 10, 50, or 100 μl l⁻¹ of either Deepwater Horizon spill oil or the Texas crude mixture were incubated under in situ conditions. Photopigments were analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography and community composition was determined using ChemTax. Total phytoplankton biomass (as chl a) declined with increasing crude oil concentrations. Prasinophytes, the most abundant microalga in both experiments, showed no response to oil exposure in one experiment and a significant negative response in the other. Diatoms euglenophytes and chlorophytes appeared relatively resistant to oil contamination at the exposure levels used in this study, maintaining or increasing their relative abundance with increasing oil concentrations. Chlorophytes and cyanobacteria increased in relative abundance while cryptophyte abundance decreased with increasing oil concentrations. The results of these experiments suggest that low levels of crude oil exposure may reduce total biomass and alter phytoplankton community composition with possible cascade effects at higher trophic levels in salt marsh estuaries.     

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon concentrations in urban soils representing different land use categories in Shanghai

An extensive soil survey was carried out in Shanghai to investigate the spatial distribution and possible sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in urban soils. Soil samples were collected from highways, iron-smelting plants, steel-smelting plants, shipbuilding yards, coking plants, power plants, chemical plants, urban parks, university campuses and residential areas and were analyzed for 16 PAHs by gas chromatography with mass detection. High PAH concentrations were found in all locations investigated, with mean values of soil total PAH concentrations in the range 3,279–38,868 μg/kg DM, and the PAH concentrations were significantly influenced by soil organic matter content. Soil PAH profiles in all districts were dominated by PAHs with 4–6 rings. Principal components analysis and diagnostic ratios of PAHs indicate that they were mainly derived from coal combustion and petroleum but in soils from highways the PAHs were derived largely from vehicle exhaust emissions. The high concentrations of PAHs found indicate that many urban soils in Shanghai represent a potential hazard to public health.     

The characteristics of the seismic signals induced by landslides using a coupling of discrete element and finite difference methods

Landslide seismic signals support researchers to estimate magnitudes and locations of landslides. They can serve as a crucial data for landslide warning systems. However, the randomness of landslide locations makes the acquisition of landslide-induced seismic signals difficult and limits the number of available field data. The objectives of this study are to establish a numerical modeling approach to examine the characteristics of seismic signals induced by landslides and perform parametrical study. The two-dimensional particle flow code (PFC) and Fast Lagrangian Analysis of Continua (FLAC) are coupled to simulate the landslide process. The force and velocity data at the coupled interfaces of FLAC and PFC are transferred back and forth via a Socket I/O connection. Four locations were monitored for the induced vertical seismic signals, including velocity, acceleration, and stress histories. The signals were analyzed by Hilbert-Huang transform to obtain the time-frequency spectrograms for examining the characteristics of the signals. The particle size, wall friction, particle friction, and parallel bond of PFC input parameters were parametrically investigated. The Xiaolin landslide in 2009 was successfully simulated, and the characteristics of the seismic signals were studied and compared with the data from a broadband seismic station. These results demonstrate that terrain and transition in the movement type of a complex landslide do influence the seismic signals. A landslide with larger rock particles generates lower-frequency content seismic signals. Also, there can be approximately 40 s to escape before a large-scale landslide hits if seismic instrumentation is installed. The method proposed can be further applied for studies on many other large-scale rock avalanches to verify recorded signals and further correlate the signals with the landslide characteristics.     

Formation of chlorite rims and the impact of pore-lining chlorite on reservoir quality: a case study from Shiqianfeng sandstones in upper Permian of Dongpu Depression,Bohai Bay Basin,eastern China

The source material, precursor and formation processes of chlorite rims, and impact of pore-lining chlorite on reservoir quality of the Shiqianfeng sandstones, Dongpu Depression, Bohai Bay Basin, China, are studied using an integrated approach, including core observation, point-count analysis of thin-sections, scanning electron microscopy, electron microprobe analysis and cathode luminescence. The petrographic analysis shows that chlorite rims consist of grain-coating chlorite, poorly crystalline pore-lining chlorite and euhedral-crystallised pore-lining chlorite. The chemical composition shows that pore-lining chlorite is mainly Fe-rich with an average of 0.785 for Fe/(Fe+Mg) ratio. Petrographic analysis shows a large amount of volcanic dust (3.0～16.0 vol%, average of 7.93 vol%) in Shiqianfeng sandstones, which determines the formation of poorly crystalline pore-lining chlorite. Transformation of volcanic dust to smectite rims started with shallow burial depth at an early diagenetic stage, followed by in situ alteration of the smectite rims to poorly crystalline chlorite rims. Euhedral-crystallised chlorite mainly develops in sandstones with high porosity, high permeability and open flow systems. Pore-lining chlorite can inhibit quartz overgrowth but cannot effectively prevent pore-filling of authigenic quartz, carbonate and kaolinite cements, and therefore cannot prevent porosity destruction. However, the occurrence of pore-lining chlorite is a barometer of good reservoir quality and intense hydrodynamic conditions.     

A double-differenced cycle slip detection and repair method for GNSS CORS network

The difficulty to detect and repair cycle slip of carrier phase measurements is a key limit for continuously high accuracy of GNSS positioning and navigation services. We propose an automated cycle slip detection and repair method for data preprocessing of a CORS network. The method jointly uses double-differenced (DD) geometry-free (GF) combination and ionospheric-free observation corrected for the computed geometrical distance (IF-OMC) to estimate the cycle slips in dual-frequency observations. The DD GF combination, which is only affected by the ionospheric residual, can be used to detect cycle slips with high reliability except for special pairs such as (77, 60) on GPS L1/L2 frequencies. The detection principle of the IF-OMC observable is such that there is a large discontinuity related to the previous epoch when cycle slips occur at the present epoch. The disadvantages of these two combinations can be overcome employing the proposed detection method. The cycle slip pair (77, 60) has no effect on the GF combination, while a change of 14.65 m is derived from GPS L1/L2 observations using the IF-OMC algorithm. Using pre-determined station coordinates as precise values, we found that the accuracy of the DD IF-OMC combination was 18 mm for a 200-km CORS baseline. Therefore, cycle slips in dual-frequency observations can be correctly and uniquely determined using DD GF and IF-OMC equations. The proposed method was verified by adding simulated cycle slips in observations collected from the CORS network under a quiet ionosphere and shown to be effective. Moreover, the method was assessed with observations made during intense ionospheric activity, which generated extensive cycle slips. The results show that the algorithm can detect and repair all cycle slips apart from two exceptions relating to long data gaps.     

Ecotourism and mass tourism in Southern Thailand: Spatial interdependence,structural connections,and staged authenticity

The desire to spend leisure time in natural settings represents a key factor behind the recent and rapid growth of ecotourism. A search by ecotourists for remote landscapes and locations has shaped the way in which geographers have defined ecotourism, but few scholars have explored, in detail, the mechanics of the spatial relationship between ecotourism and mass tourism, two forms of travel usually considered mutually exclusive in spatial terms. Using the island of Phuket — southern Thailands premier resort destination — as a case study, this paper investigates the spatial overlaps and connections between ecotourism and mass tourism and tests the assumption that ecotourism and mass tourism must exist spatially apart in order for the former to succeed. Despite Phukets association with mass tourism, and the small physical distances between built-up mass tourist areas and natural ecotourism settings, the communicative staging of natural authenticity allows ecotourism companies to convey geographical remoteness to tourists. Although ecotourism in Phuket must struggle constantly to overcome the perceptual impact of spatial proximity to resort locations, the tourist markets and business networks of the existing mass tourism industry remain crucial to the survival of ecotourism in this region. Thus, contrary to conventional notions that ecotourism and mass tourism must exist as separate entities, this paper argues that an interconnected, symbiotic, and spatially-contiguous relationship between the two is necessary in the case of Phuket.     

Petrology and Geochemistry of MORB from 25?E to 46?E along the Southwest Indian Ridge: Evidence for Contrasting Styles of Mantle Enrichment

The 1984 PROTEA expedition, leg 5, to the central SouthwestIndian Ridge recovered basaltic lavas from fracture zones andridge segments between 25?E and 48?E. In terms of petrographyand major element variations the samples are unremarkable forocean ridge basalts and range from aphyric to highly plagioclasephyric and from primitive (mg-number = 70) to moderately evolved(mg-number = 40) in composition. Multiply saturated (i.e., olivine,plagioclase, and clinopyroxene) basalts are common within thisregion. There is no systematic difference in compositional characteristicsbetween basalts dredged from fracture zone walls and those dredgedfrom ridge segments, and fractional crystallization has playedan important role in controlling the overall range in lava compositionin both tectonic environments. Incompatible element abundance ratios in the basalts are morenotable and distinguish between geochemically depleted (N-type)MORB with high Zr/Nb (1668) and Y/Nb (4?723) ratios and low(La/Sm)^m, ratios (0-?76–1?00), and geochemically enriched(E-type) MORB with low Zr/Nb (3?4–15?8) and Y/Nb (0?5–8?8)and high (La/Sm). ratios (1?07–3?8). N-type MORB appearsto be absent in the immediate vicinity of Marion Island, butoccurs further along the ridge to the northeast and southwest.Geochemically enriched MORB occurs at scattered localities alongthe ridge but is particularly abundant along the section ofthe ridge closest to the Marion hotspot. In detail, two distinct varieties of E-type MORB can be recognized.The one type has incompatible element and isotopic ratios similarto, although slightly less enriched than, those characteristicof the Marion hotspot (Zr/Nb=5?8–8?6; Y/Nb=0?5–0?8;Ba/Nb=5?1–9?0). The second type can be distinguished byhaving high Ba/Nb ratios (9–22), unlike any lavas directlyassociated with the Marion hotspot, but similar to those characteristicof DUPAL ocean island basalts (OIB). A single sample from thisgroup for which there are isotopic data indicates derivationfrom an isotopically anomalous source region. A model is proposed whereby the sub-oceanic mantle below thisportion of the southwest Indian Ocean has experienced at leasttwo distinct enrichment events. The one is associated with theupwelling of the Marion mantle plume (geochemically characterizedby having low Ba/Nb ratios and normal OIB isotopic ratios).The other is associated with upwelling from a DUPAL source (characterizedby having high Ba/Nb ratio and unusual isotopic ratios) whichhas been proposed to exist beneath this portion of the southwestIndian Ocean (Hart, 1984). On the basis of Ba/Nb and Nb/U ratios,recycled oceanic lithosphere is favoured as a source for theMarion hotspot, while recycled oceanic lithosphere plus ancientpelagic sediment appears to be the most likely source for theDUPAL anomaly and the DUPAL E-type MORB in this region.     

Devonian ichnofossils from the Farakah Muth section of the Pin Valley,Spiti Himalaya

The Muth Formation is one of the most characteristic marker horizon traced throughout the northwestern Himalaya. The present studies were carried out in the Farakah Muth (Pin Valley) section of Spiti Basin. The formation uniformly consists of quartzarenite with a high textural and compositional maturity. The development of carbonate beds in the upper part of the Muth Formation separates it conformably from the overlying Lipak Formation. A variety of traces were observed throughout the succession, includes: Metaichna, Planolites, Skolithos, vertical and horizontal burrows. The presence of ichnofossils in the Muth Formation of the Farakah section indicates subtidal settings having soft sandy substrate, whereas, the gradual maturity of the quartz grains from base to top indicates deposition under high energy condition.