Determination of Gold in e‐Waste Dust Samples and Geological Matrices by ICP‐MS after Extraction by an HClO4‐HBr‐HI‐Aqua Regia Mixture

This study describes two methods (Procedures‐1 and ‐2) for the direct extraction of Au by an inorganic acid mixture (HClO₄‐HBr‐HI‐aqua regia) from complex sample matrices. Standard PTFE jars at 200 °C were used to decompose test portions of 0.5–1 g, with subsequent precise and accurate analysis by ICP‐MS without any other preconcentration or separation. Procedure‐1 decomposed samples effectively without the necessity of leaching with HF and was developed for dust samples from e‐waste (electronic waste) processing; however, testing on geological reference materials showed very good results. The analyses of replicate decompositions (n = 5) from both procedures yielded very good precision (< 5% RSD) for most of the reference materials. The accuracy achieved was better than ± 10%, with the exception of NIST SRM 2782 data from Procedure‐1. Two unknown samples of dust from e‐waste processing (P‐1 and VM‐1) exhibited elevated concentrations of Au (21.31–61.64 μg g^?1) with precision better than 10% (n = 5). The proposed techniques are simple, sensitive and sparing in the use of chemicals, and are designed for a variety of e‐waste dust samples. No significant influences were observed for the predicted spectral interferences on mass ¹⁹⁷Au.     

A heat pulse technique for the determination of small‐scale flow directions and flow velocities in the streambed of sand‐bed streams

The hyporheic zone (HZ) has the capability to eliminate and attenuate nutrients and contaminants in riverine systems. Biogeochemical reactions and the potential elimination of contaminants are strongly controlled by the flow paths and dynamics in the HZ. Nevertheless, an easily applicable method for the field determination of flow patterns in the HZ is still lacking. Therefore, a heat pulse technique, which traces the movement of a short heat pulse in the upper part of the HZ and other sand beds, was developed. Five rods are vertically driven into the sediment of the streambed; one rod with a heater as point source located in about 10‐cm sediment depth and four rods with four temperature sensors in 3 cm distance, arranged concentrically with 7 cm diameter around the heating rod. Subsequently, a heat pulse is applied and the resulting breakthrough curves are indicative of flow velocities and flow directions in the streambed. A rough data analysis procedure is also suggested. In addition, laboratory experiments were performed to test the heat pulse technique. These experiments were validated based on coupled numerical modelling of flow and heat transport. First field tests of the method prove that the method is easily applicable under field conditions. These first field tests showed highly complex flow patterns with flow velocities from 1·8 to 4·9 cm min^?1 and flow directions from parallel to surface flow to opposite to surface flow. This suggests the need for a robust method to quantify hyporheic flow patterns in situ. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Spatial variation of wetlands and flux of dissolved organic carbon in boreal headwater streams

In order to investigate the relation between water chemistry and functional landscape elements, spatial data sets of characteristics for 68 small (0·2–1·5 km²) boreal forest catchments in western central Sweden were analysed in a geographical information system (GIS). The geographic data used were extracted from official topographic maps. Water sampled four times at different flow situations was analysed chemically. This paper focuses on one phenomenon that has an important influence on headwater quality in boreal, coniferous forest streams: generation and export of dissolved organic carbon (DOC). It is known that wetland cover (bogs and fens) in the catchment is a major source of DOC. In this study, a comparison was made between a large number of headwater catchments with varying spatial locations and areas of wetlands. How this variation, together with a number of other spatial variables, influences the DOC flux in the streamwater was analysed by statistical methods. There were significant, but not strong, correlations between the total percentages of wetland area and DOC flux measured at a medium flow situation, but not at high flow. Neither were there any significant correlations between the percentage of wetland area connected to streams, nor the percentage of wetland area within a zone 50 m from the stream and the DOC flux. There were, however, correlations between catchment mean slope and the DOC flux in all but one flow situations. This study showed that, considering geographical data retrieved from official sources, the topography of a catchment better explains the variation in DOC flux than the percentage and locations of distinct wetland areas. This emphasizes the need for high‐resolution elevation models accurate enough to reveal the sources of DOC found in headwater streams. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Seismic rupture during the 1960 Great Chile and the 2010 Maule earthquakes limited by a giant Pleistocene submarine slope failure

Determining factors that limit coseismic rupture is important to evaluate the hazard of powerful subduction zone earthquakes such as the 2011 Tohoku‐Oki event (Mw = 9.0). In 1960 (Mw = 9.5) and 2010 (Mw = 8.8), Chile was hit by such powerful earthquakes, the boundary of which was the site of a giant submarine slope failure with chaotic debris subducted to seismogenic zone depth. Here, a continuous décollement is absent, whereas away from the slope failure, a continuous décollement is seismically imaged. We infer that underthrusting of inhomogeneous slide deposits prevents the development of a décollement, and thus the formation of a thin continuous slip zone necessary for earthquake rupture propagation. Thus, coseismic rupture during the 1960 and 2010 earthquakes seems to be limited by underthrusted upper plate mass‐wasting deposits. More generally, our results suggest that upper plate dynamics and resulting surface processes can play a key role for determining rupture size of subduction zone earthquakes.     

Chronology and palaeoenvironmental implications of the ice‐wedge pseudomorphs and composite‐wedge casts on the Magdalen Islands (eastern Canada)

The Magdalen Islands are a valuable terrestrial record, evidencing the complex glacial and periglacial history of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Thirteen structures interpreted as ice‐wedge pseudomorphs or composite‐wedge casts were observed at four sites on the southern Magdalen Islands and testify to the former presence of permafrost under periglacial conditions. These features truncate Carboniferous sandstone or Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) glacial and glaciomarine diamicts, both overlain by subtidal or coastal units. Six optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and four radiocarbon ages were obtained from both host and infilled sedimentary units. These ages provide the first absolute chronological data on these structures, shedding new light on the relationships between glacial and periglacial phases. Our chronostratigraphic data suggest that, after the deglaciation and the emersion of the archipelago, thermal contraction cracks grew during the cold period of the Younger Dryas (11–10 ka; 12.9–11.5 cal. ka BP). The Younger Dryas, which is well documented in the Maritime Provinces of Canada, occurred after a pedogenesis phase associated with the Allerød warm period evidenced by the well‐developed palaeopodzol ubiquitous on the Magdalen Islands.     

River flow forecasting using wavelet and cross‐wavelet transform models

In this study, short‐term river flood forecasting models based on wavelet and cross‐wavelet constituent components were developed and evaluated for forecasting daily stream flows with lead times equal to 1, 3, and 7 days. These wavelet and cross‐wavelet models were compared with artificial neural network models and simple perseverance models. This was done using data from the Skrwa Prawa River watershed in Poland. Numerical analysis was performed on daily maximum stream flow data from the Parzen station and on meteorological data from the Plock weather station in Poland. Data from 1951 to 1979 was used to train the models while data from 1980 to 1983 was used to test the models. The study showed that forecasting models based on wavelet and cross‐wavelet constituent components can be used with great accuracy as a stand‐alone forecasting method for 1 and 3 days lead time river flood forecasting, assuming that there are no significant trends in the amplitude for the same Julian day year‐to‐year, and that there is a relatively stable phase shift between the flow and meteorological time series. It was also shown that forecasting models based on wavelet and cross‐wavelet constituent components for forecasting river floods are not accurate for longer lead time forecasting such as 7 days, with the artificial neural network models providing more accurate results. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evolution of forest precipitation water storage measurement methods

Precipitation intercepted by forests plays a major role in more than one‐fourth of the global land area's hydrologic cycle. Direct in situ measurement of intercepted precipitation is challenging, and thus, it is typically indirectly estimated through comparing precipitation under forest cover and in the open. We discuss/compare measurement methods for forest precipitation interception beyond classical budgeting and then recommend future directions for improving water storage estimation. Comparison of techniques shows that methods submerging tree components produce the largest water storage capacity values. Whole‐tree lysimeters have been used with great success at quantifying water storage for the integrated system yet are unable to separate trunk versus canopy storage. Remote sensing, particularly signal attenuation, may permit this separation. Mechanical displacement methods show great promise and variety of techniques: pulley/spring system, branch strain sensors, trunk compression sensors and photography. Relating wind sway to water storage also shows great promise with negligible environmental disruption yet is currently at the proof‐of‐concept stage. Suggested future directions focus on development of common features regarding all discussed methods: (i) measurement uncertainties or processes beyond interception influencing the observed signal, (ii) scaling approaches to move from single tree components to the single‐tree and forest scales and (iii) temporal scaling to estimate the relevance of single‐interception components over longer timescales. Through addressing these research needs, we hope the scientific community can develop an ‘integrated’ monitoring plan incorporating multiple measurement techniques to characterize forest‐scale water storage dynamics while simultaneously investigating underlying (smaller‐scale) components driving those dynamics across the spectrum of precipitation and forest conditions. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.