Methylene blue transport in a sand-illite mixture and its implications for contaminant transport

Understanding contaminant transport in clay-containing soils is critical for accurate prediction of the travel distances of contaminants and for the design and implementation of corresponding remediation plans. This study examined the breakthrough behavior of methylene blue (MB) through sand-illite mixtures using laboratory soil-column experiments at five inlet concentrations, three flow rates, and five illite contents. Kinetic and equilibrium adsorption tests were performed to evaluate the maximum adsorption capacities of the sand and illite used in the soil-column experiments. In addition, the bed efficiency, MB saturation, and adsorption rate were calculated to quantitatively describe the observed breakthrough curves. The observed breakthrough curves, bed efficiencies, MB saturations, and adsorption rates in this study demonstrated the presence of a threshold illite content of ~10% for the adsorption efficiency of contaminants. This implies the need to evaluate the threshold clay content for accurate predictions of contaminant transport through gap-graded clay-containing soils.

     

Hydrogeochemistry and environmental isotopes of ground water in Jeju volcanic island,Korea: implications for nitrate contamination

Ground water from springs and public supply wells was investigated for hydrochemistry and environmental isotopes of ³H, ¹⁸O and D in Jeju volcanic island, Korea. The wells are completed in a basaltic aquifer and the upper part of hydrovolcanic sedimentary formation. Nitrate contamination is conspicuous in the coastal area where most of the samples have nitrate concentrations well above 1 mg NO₃ N/l. Agricultural land use seems to have a strong influence on the distribution of nitrate in ground water. Comparison of stable isotopic compositions of precipitation and ground water show that ground water mostly originates from rainy season precipitation without significant secondary modification and that local recharge is dominant. ³H concentration of ground water ranged from nearly zero to 5 TU and is poorly correlated with vertical location of well screens. The occurrence of the ³H‐free, old ground water is due to the presence of low permeability layers near the boundary of the basaltic aquifer and the hydrovolcanic sedimentary formation, which significantly limits ground water flow from the upper basaltic aquifer. The old ground water exhibited background‐level nitrate concentrations despite high nitrate loadings, whereas young ground water had considerably higher nitrate concentrations. This correlation of ³H and nitrate concentration may be ascribed to the history of fertilizer use that has increased dramatically since the early 1960s in the island. This suggests that ³H can be used as a qualitative indicator for aquifer vulnerability to nitrate contamination. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Primary ‘cut-and-fill’ channels and gravitational diagenetic features

Ore beds with fluorite and sphalerite occur in the Cave-In-Rock fluorite district, Illinois in the upper part of the Mississippian System; in the upper parts of the Fredonia and Joppa Members of the Ste. Genevieve Formation and in the upper part of the Downeys Bluff Formation. Sedimentary structures within the upper two horizons are described and discussed. Primary cut-and-fill channels usually contain broken pieces of dolomite, limestone, shale, sandstone, fluorite and sphalerite. Some of the channels show geopetal features. Horizontal stylolitic seams bend downward and their thicknesses increase while their amplitudes decrease near and along the channel slopes. Another geopetal feature consists of clastic shale fragments which have mechanically filled from above into an open crack formed in the hydroplastic carbonate mud below. A number of features known as collapsed structures prove to be cut-and-fill structures of primary origin. During the compaction, carbonate beds were reduced in thickness by at least 37% through styloitization. The relationships between primary sedimentary channels and fluorite-sphalerite ore rocks suggest that the latter may have been deposited during or after the formation of such sedimentary structures, i. e., during various stages of diagenesis.

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Zusammenfassung Die Fluorit-Zinkblende-Vorkommen des Cave-In-Rock Distrikts von Illinois treten stratigraphisch in den oberen Partien des Mississippian System, speziell in der Fredonia und Joppa Serie der Ste. Genevieve Formation und in der Downeys Bluff Formation auf. Einige sedimentäre Strukturen in diesen beiden oberen Horizonten werden beschrieben und diskutiert. Primäre cut-and-fill channels enthalten im allgemeinen Bruchstücke von Dolomit, Kalk- und Sandstein, Schieferton, Fluorit und Zinkblende. Einige channels zeigen geopetale Gefüge, d. h. horizontale stylolithische Lagen sind mit zunehmender Mächtigkeit und abnehmender Amplitude der Fältelung in der Nähe oder entlang der Flanken der channel Strukturen nach unten durchgebogen. Ein weiteres geopetales Gefüge besteht aus Schieferton-Fragmenten, die mechanisch in eine offene Spalte des darunterliegenden hydroplastischen Karbonatschlammes eingesunken sind. Eine Anzahl von Gefügen, bekannt als collapsed structures scheinen cut-and-fill und slump Strukturen von primär subaquatischer Herkunft zu sein. Während der Diagenese wurden Karbonatbänke durch Stylolithbildung um mindestens 37% der ursprünglichen Mächtigkeit reduziert. Die Beziehungen zwischen den primären sedimentären channels und dem Fluorit-Zinkblende-Erz deuten darauf hin, daß das letztere während oder nach der Bildung der sedimentären Strukturen abgelagert wurde, d. h., während verschiedener Perioden der Diagenese.

     

Use of an artificial neural network for analysis of the susceptibility to landslides at Boun,Korea

The purpose of this study was to develop landslide susceptibility analysis techniques using artificial neural networks and to apply the resulting techniques to the study area of Boun in Korea. Landslide locations were identified in the study area from interpretation of aerial photographs and field survey data. A spatial database of the topography, soil type, timber cover, geology, and land cover was constructed and the landslide-related factors were extracted from the spatial database. Using these factors, the susceptibility to landslides was analyzed by artificial neural network methods. The results of the landslide susceptibility maps were compared and verified using known landslide locations at another area, Yongin, in Korea. A Geographic Information System (GIS) was used to analyze efficiently the vast amount of data and an artificial neural network turned out to be an effective tool to analyze the landslide susceptibility.     

Genetic Implications of Two Different Ultramafic Rocks from Hongseong Area in the Southwestern Gyeonggi Massif, South Korea

Two distinct ultramafic bodies occur in Baekdong and Bibong in the Hongseong area within Gyeonggi massif of South Korea. The Hongseong area is now extensively documented as an extension of the Dabie-Sulu collision belt in China. The Baekdong ultramafic body has a NWW elongation direction. This elongation trend is similar to the general trend of the Dabie-Sulu collision belt. The Bibong ultramafic body is elongated in a NNE direction and runs parallel to the direction of the main fault in the study area. The Baekdong ultramafic bodies show porphyroclastic and mylonitic textures while those at Bibong exhibit a mosaic texture. Both were grouped into peridotite and serpentinite based on their modal abundance of serpentine. In the olivine (Fo) vs. spinel [Cr# = Cr/ (Cr+Al)] diagram, both ultramafic rocks fall with in olivine spinel mantle array. The compositions of olivine, orthopyroxene and spinel indicate that the Baekdong ultramafic rock formed in deeper parts of the upper-mantle under passive margin tectonic setting. The SREE content of Baekdong ultramafic rock vary from 0.19 to 5.7, exhibits a flat REE pattern in the chondrite-normalized diagram, and underwent 5% partial melting. Conversely, large variation in SREE (0.5 21.53) was observed for Bibong ultramafic rocks with an enrichment of LREE with a negative slope and underwent 17 24% partial melting. The Baekdong ultramafic rocks experienced three stages of metamorphism after a high pressure residual mantle stage. The first stage of metamorphism occurred under the eclogite-granulite transitional facies (1123 911°C, >16.3 kb) the second under the granulite facies (825 740°C, 16.3 11.8 kb) and the third is the retrogressive metamorphism under amphibolite facies (782 718°C, 8.2 8.7 kb) metamorphism. The Baekdong ultramafic rocks had undergone high-P/T metamorphism during subduction of the South China Block, and experienced a fast isothermal uplift, and finally cooled down isobarically. Evidences for metamorphism were not identified in Bibong ultramafic rocks. Hence, the Baekdong ultramafic rocks with in the Hongseong area may indicate a link on the Korean counterpart of Dabie-Sulu collision belt between North and South China Blocks.     

Antiproliferative and apoptosis-inducing potential of 3β-hydroxy-△5-steroidal congeners purified from the soft coral Dendronephthya putteri

The exploration and identification of antiproliferative phytochemicals have received increased attention in medicinal chemistry.In particular,research focused on the toxicology of marine natural products has increased in recent years.Terpenoids,among many secondary metabolites,have been demonstrated to act as effective anticancer agents.Soft corals,a group of marine invertebrates,produce a variety of terpenoids with biofunctional properties.The current study presents the extraction,purification,and identification of sterol congeners from the soft coral Dendronephthya putteri.The method involves 50%chloro form-methanol extraction,polar column fractionation,and analy sis through GC-MS~n.Do se-dependent antiproliferative activity was observed within the sterol-rich fraction(DPCMH 2-4),which consisted of3β-hydroxy-A5-steroidal congeners.This fraction inhibited the growth of HL-60 and MCF-7 cells with IC_(50) values of 25.27±1.43 and 22.81±0.15 μg/mL,respectively.Apoptotic body formation,DNA damage,cell cycle arrest,and apoptotic cell signaling pathway activation were also observed,reinforcing the dosedependent antiproliferative and apoptosis-inducing activity of 3β-hydroxy-A5-steroidal congeners.To our knowledge,this is the first report of anticancer agent identification from the soft coral D.putteri.Based on the observations,these steroidal congeners are promising candidates for the development of anticancer drugs.     

Biomarker-based Seawater Temperatures of Winter Sinking Particles and Core-top Sediment in the Ulleung Basin of the East Sea

Ocean Science Journal - This study evaluates the application of biomarkerbased temperature proxy data (alkenone with its resultant $$U_{37}^{K'}$$ index and glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraether...     

Integration of the nuclease protection assay with sandwich hybridization (NPA-SH) for sensitive detection of Heterocapsa triquetra

Microalgae are photosynthetic microorganisms that function as primary producers in aquatic ecosystems. Some species of microalgae undergo rapid growth and cause harmful blooms in marine ecosystems. Heterocapsa triquetra is one of the most common bloom-forming species in estuarine and coastal waters worldwide. Although this species does not produce toxins, unlike some other Heterocapsa species, the high density of its blooms can cause significant ecological damage. We developed a H. triquetra species-specific nuclease protection assay sandwich hybridization(NPA-SH) probe that targets the large subunit of ribosomal RNA(LSU r RNA). We tested probe specificity and sensitivity with five other dinoflagellates that also cause red tides. Our assay detected H.triquetra at a concentration of 1.5×104 cells/m L, more sensitive than required for a red-tide guidance warning by the Korea Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries in 2015(3.0×104 cells/m L). We also used the NPA-SH assay to monitor H. triquetra in the Tongyeong region of the southern sea area of Korea during 2014. This method could detect H.triquetra cells within 3 h. Our assay is useful for monitoring H. triquetra under field conditions.     

Detecting the intertidal morphologic change using satellite data

Previous research has suggested that competitive bottlenecks may exist for the Mediterranean grey mullets (Osteichthyes, Mugilidae) at the fry stage with the exotic Cyprinus carpio (Osteichthyes, Cyprinidae) playing a central role. As a consequence, the structure of grey mullet assemblages at later stages is thought to reflect previous competition as well as differences in osmoregulatory skills. This paper tests that hypothesis by examining four predictions about the relative abundance of five grey mullet species in 42 Western Mediterranean estuary sites from three areas (Aiguamolls de l'Empordà, Ebro Delta and Minorca) differing in the salinity level and occurrence of C. carpio. Field data confirmed the predictions as: (1) Liza aurata and Mugil cephalus were scarce everywhere and never dominated the assemblage; (2) Liza saliens dominated the assemblage where the salinity level was higher than 13; (3) Liza ramado always dominated the assemblage where the salinity level was lower than 13 and C. carpio was present; and (4) Chelon labrosus dominated the assemblage only where the salinity level was lower than 13 and C. carpio was absent. The catch per unit effort of C. labrosus of any size was smaller in the presence of C. carpio than where it had not been introduced, which is in agreement with the juvenile competitive bottleneck hypothesis. Discriminant analysis confirmed that the assemblage structure was linked to the salinity level and the occurrence of C. carpio for both early juveniles and late juveniles as well as adults. The data reported here reveal that the structure of grey mullet assemblages inhabiting Mediterranean estuaries is determined by salinity and competitive interactions at the fry stage.