Size and elemental distributions of nano- to micro-particulates in the geochemically-stratified Great Salt Lake

The characterization of trace elements in terms of their apportionment among dissolved, macromolecular, nano- and micro-particulate phases in the water column of the Great Salt Lake carries implications for the potential entry of toxins into the food web of the lake. Samples from the anoxic deep and oxic shallow brine layers of the lake were fractionated using asymmetric flow field-flow fractionation (AF4). The associated trace elements were measured via online collision cell inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry (CC-ICP-MS). Results showed that of the total (dissolved + particulate) trace element mass, the percent associated with particulates varied from negligible (e.g. Sb), to greater than 50% (e.g. Al, Fe, Pb). Elements such as Cu, Zn, Mn, Co, Au, Hg, and U were associated with nanoparticles, as well as being present as dissolved species. Particulate-associated trace elements were predominantly associated with particulates larger than 450 nm in size. Among the smaller nanoparticulates (<450 nm), some trace elements (Ni, Zn, Au and Pb) showed higher percent mass (associated with nanoparticles) in the 0.9–7.5 nm size range relative to the 10–250 nm size range. The apparent nanoparticle size distributions were similar between the two brine layers; whereas, important differences in elemental associations to nanoparticles were discerned between the two layers. Elements such as Zn, Cu, Pb and Mo showed increasing signal intensities from oxic shallow to anoxic deep brine, suggesting the formation of sulfide nanoparticles, although this may also reflect association with dissolved organic matter. Aluminum and Fe showed greatly increased concentration with depth and equivalent size distributions that differed from those of Zn, Cu, Pb and Mo. Other elements (e.g. Mn, Ni, and Co) showed no significant change in signal intensity with depth. Arsenic was associated with <2 nm nanoparticles, and showed no increase in concentration with depth, possibly indicating dissolved arsenite. Mercury was associated with <2 nm nanoparticles, and showed greatly increased concentration with depth, possibly indicating association with dissolved organic matter.     

Textural properties vs. CEC and EGME retention of Na–X zeolite prepared from fly ash at room temperature

Zeolite Na–X (FAU type) was synthesized from F-class fly ash in simple and economical way. Several months of storage of fly ash in NaOH solution, at room temperature, without any prior treatment, results in the production of material with ca. 50% content of Na–X zeolite. The most efficient reaction takes place at (OH)⁻ activity of 0.1–0.15 mol (OH)⁻/g of ash and at S/L ratio of 33 to 67 g/dm³. Higher S/L value causes an accelerating dissolution–crystallization equilibrium attainment. Cl⁻ ion acts as the inhibitor of this reaction.     

HAND contour: a new proxy predictor of inundation extent

Tools for accurately predicting environmental risks, such as the location and spatial extent of potential inundation, are not widely available. A dependence on calibration and a lack of available flood data have prevented the widespread application of existing hydrodynamic methods for predicting the extent of inundation. We use the height above the nearest drainage (HAND) terrain model to develop a simple static approach for mapping the potential extent of inundation that does not depend on flood observations and extends beyond methods for mapping low‐lying areas. While relying on the contour concept, the method utilizes drainage‐normalized topography and flowpaths to delineate the relative vertical distances (drop) to the nearest river. The HAND‐delineated relative drop is an effective distributed predictor of flood potential, which is directly related to the river stage height. We validated the new HAND contour approach using a flood event in Southern Brazil for which high‐resolution maps were available. The results indicated that the flood hazard‐mapping method accurately predicted the inundation extent of the channel carrying the flood wave and the channels influenced by flooding. For channels positioned outside of the flood‐wave area, the method overestimated the actual flood extent. As an original static assessment of floodwaters across the landscape, the HAND contour method could be used to map flood hazards in areas with poor information and could promote the development of new methods for predicting hydrological hazards. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Alkaline rocks and carbonatites of Amba Dongar and adjacent areas,Deccan Igneous Province,Gujarat, India: 1. Geology,petrography and petrochemistry

Summary Rift-related, late Eocene ( 60 Ma) alkaline-carbonatitec intrusions cover 1200 km2 south of the town of Chhota Udaipur, and form a subprovince within the alkaline magmatism that accompanies the tholeiitic Deccan Traps. They were emplaced temporally between late Deccan Trap flows and late dykes of basalt and picritic basalt. The subprovince comprises five main geographic occurrences (sectors): (1)Amba Dongar: a ring-complex of Ca-Mg-Fe-carbonatites, nephelinites to tephriphonolites, and fluorite deposits; (2)Siriwasan-Dugdha: an intrusive complex of Ca—carbonatites, nephelinites and trachytic rocks; (3)Phenai Mata: a nepheline syenite plug and dykes, plus dykes of tephrites to phonolites and lamprophyres (intimately associated with a layered tholeiitic gabbro—granophyre intrusion); (4)Panwad-Kawant: dykes and plugs of lamprophyres and tephrites to phonolites; (5)Bakhatgarh-Phulmahal: late basic-ultrabasic dykes only. The alkaline rocks range from ultrasodic to ultrapotassic, but are mostly nonperalkaline. Silica-undersaturated examples show higher incompatible and LIL element contents (Rb, K, Nb, Zr, Sr, Ba, LREE, etc.) than the associated tholeiites. However, the late basic-ultrabasic dykes display an continuum of alkaline-tholeiitic compositions. Possible parent magmas are represented among the primitive undersaturated basic dykes (including lamprophyres). The trachytic rocks are subalkaline, and may be genetically related to a tholeiitic rather than alkaline parent magma.

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Alkaligesteine und Karbonatite von Amba Dongar und Umgebung, Dekkan-Provinz, Gujarat, Indien: 1. Geologie, Petrographie und Gesteinschemie

Zusammenfassung Alkalisch-karbonatitische Intrusionen aus dem Obereozän (60 Ma) erstrecken sich über 1200 km² südlich der indischen Stadt Chhota Udaipur und bilden einen Teil des alkalischen Komplexes, der die tholeiitischen Deccan Traps begleitet. Die Gesteine wurden während eines Rifting Prozesses intrudiert und lagern stratigraphisch zwischen Deccan Trap Tholeiiten und basaltischen bzw. pikritischen Ganggesteinen. Das Gebiet läßt sich in fünf geographische Regionen unterteilen: (1) Amba Dongar: ein ringförmiger Komplex aus Ca-Mg-Fe-reichen Karbonatiten, Nepheliniten und Tephriphonoliten mit Fluorit-Lagerstätten; (2) Siriwasan-Dugdha: eine Ca-reiche Karbonatit-Intrusion mit Nepheliniten und Trachyten; (3) Phenai Mata: Eine Nephelin-syenitische Intrusion und begleitende Ganggesteine aus Tephriten, Phonoliten und Lamprophyren, die mit einer magmatisch geschichteten tholeiitischen Gabbro Intrusion vergesellschaftet sind; (4) Panwad-Kawant: Lamprophyrische Ganggesteine neben Tephriten und Phonoliten; (5) Bakhatgarh-Phulmahal: späte basisch bis ultrabasische Ganggesteine. Die alkalischen Gesteine besitzen eine ultrapotassische bis extrem Na-reiche Zusammensetzung, nur vereinzelte Proben weisen jedoch peralkalischen Charakter auf. Silizium-untersättigte (alkalische) Proben besitzen in der Regel höhere Konzentrationen an Mantel-inkompatiblen Elementen (z.B. LREE, Nb und Zr) und LILE (z.B. Rb, Sr und Ba) als die benachbarten Tholeiite. Die späten basisch bis ultrabasischen Ganggesteine stellen ein Kontinuum von alkalischer bis tholeiitischer Geochemie dar. Die primitiven Silizium-untersättigten Ganggesteine (und Lamprophyre) repräsentieren vermutlich die Ausgangssehmelzen; die subalkalischen Trachyte dürften in genetischem Zusammenhang mit den Tholeiiten stehen.

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With 8 Figures     

Multi-object fiber-fed spectroscopy

We are presenting a multi-object instrument for spectrography in a large field. It is of the arm design as MX or ARGUS. The MEFOS (Meudon-ESO Fiber Optical System) version is built to be used at the ESO 3.60 m prime focus with the triplet corrector. The FIFI (Franco-Italian Fiber Instrument) version, a copy of MEFOS, is shared between the Bologna Observatory and the Paris-Meudon Observatory and will be used, on a visitor basis, at the CFHT prime focus. The instrument carries 30 independent arms with an imaging capability on each arm. It is a modular design with its electronic implemented on each arm. The system is under control of anti-collision software and the whole instrument is driven by an PC/XT-type computer.Paper presented at the 11th European Regional Astronomical Meetings of the IAU on New Windows to the Universe, held 3–8 July, 1989, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.     

Atrazine effects on meiobenthic assemblages of a modular estuarine mesocosm

Atrazine is a widely used herbicide in the US found at levels ranging from <10 ng/L to 62.5 microg/L in estuaries throughout the southeast. Effects of atrazine on estuarine meiobenthic assemblages chronically exposed to environmentally relevant concentrations are unknown. The purpose of our research was to assess effects of atrazine on meiobenthos at concentrations near the proposed USEPA SWQC (26 microg/L) using modular estuarine salt marsh mesocosms as a field surrogate. Indigenous copepod and nematode densities were assessed after 28 days of exposure in transplanted colonization chambers. Cluster analysis showed a group characterized by low copepod densities, mostly atrazine exposed chambers, and a group containing all but one control chamber. The later group included chambers with high densities of the copepods Paronychocamptus wilsoni and Enhydrosoma baruchi. Compared to controls, copepod densities was approximately 70% lower in atrazine chambers, with three of the most common copepod species (E. baruchi, Onychocamptus sp. and P. wilsoni) showing an average of 50-70% reduction in population densities (p<0.05). Although nematode density did not differ between atrazine and control chambers, the nematode-to-copepod ratio was significantly higher in atrazine (9.95+/-7.61; p=0.011) than in control chambers (0.61+/-0.35). Our findings suggest that chronic exposures over multiple generations to atrazine at concentrations near the proposed USEPA SWQC could have significant effects on the abundance and composition of estuarine meiobenthic copepod assemblages.     

Imposex and surface sediment speciation: a combined approach to evaluate organotin contamination in Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

An integrated biological-chemical survey of organotin compounds was carried out in Guanabara Bay, the second most important Brazilian harbor complex. The biological survey revealed high levels of imposex in Stramonita haemastoma populations. Inside the bay values of relative penis length index from 42.7 to 107.6 and vas deferens sequence index from III to VI were found, while organisms collected outside the bay had values ranging from <0.1 to 35.2 and from 0 to II. None of the females sampled inside the bay were normal and imposex was found in all stations. Surface sediments in the bay are contaminated by tributyltin (10-522 ng/g d.w.) and triphenyltin (<3.9-39.4 ng/g d.w.) with greater concentrations close to shipyards and marinas. The observed predominance of parent compounds (TBT and TPT) is commonly found when recent inputs occur, but may also indicate slow degradation processes in the anoxic conditions of these sediments. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a combined imposex-sediment approach to evaluate organotin contamination in marine environments of South America, and also the first report of TPT detection in environmental matrices in this region.     

The Newport line off Oregon - Studies in the North East Pacific

The Newport Hydrographic (NH) Line along 44.65°N off central Oregon was sampled seasonally during two epochs: 1961-1971 through the TENOC program and 1997-2003 through the GLOBEC Northeast Pacific Long Term Observations Program (LTOP); some observations are available for 2004 and 2005. During TENOC, the line extended 305 km offshore to 128°W, with stations 18 km apart over the continental shelf and 36 km offshore. During LTOP, the line was shorter (to 126°W) with closer station spacing over the continental shelf (9 km apart) and slope (18 km apart). LTOP cruises included biochemical sampling and underway current measurements. During both TENOC and LTOP, the seasonal cycle is very strong (accounting for >50% of the variance in surface layer properties), with rapid transitions in spring and fall. The summer regime is subject to coastal upwelling driven by southward winds, equatorward surface currents, and advection of low-salinity waters from the Columbia River. The winter regime off Newport is subject to coastal downwelling and poleward surface currents driven by northeastward winds. Comparison between TENOC and LTOP summer regimes shows the near-surface layer (0-100 m) at most locations is significantly warmer and fresher during LTOP than TENOC, and steric heights over the continental margin are significantly higher. Comparison of LTOP and TENOC winters shows that average differences at most locations were not statistically significant, but that the variance of steric height and shelf-break temperatures was significantly higher during LTOP than TENOC. Interannual variability of climate indices is also stronger during LTOP, which included a rare Subarctic invasion in 2002 as well as the strong 1997-1998 El Niño. During both TENOC and LTOP, interannual variability of steric height is closely related to the El Niño/La Niña cycle. Nutrient concentrations and nitrate-to-phosphate ratios of upwelling-source waters vary inversely with halocline temperature. Both reflect alongshore advection by coastal currents: southward currents bring cool, nitrate-rich waters in summer (especially during the Subarctic invasion), and northward currents bring relatively warm, nitrate-poor waters to the NH line in winter (especially during El Niño). Seasonal and interannual variations in the nutrient level of upwelling-source water are reflected in time series of vertically-integrated chlorophyll over the LTOP survey region (about 150 km by 300 km). Seasonal variations in chlorophyll and currents are congruent with seasonal variations in copepod biomass and diversity. We were not successful in establishing a clear connection between chlorophyll levels and interannual variations in copepod biomass or diversity, nor in explaining the large decrease in the survival rate of coho salmon between TENOC (6%) and LTOP (3%).