Asia-Pacific mussel watch: monitoring contamination of persistent organochlorine compounds in coastal waters of Asian countries

Contamination of persistent organochlorines (OCs) such as PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), DDT and its metabolites (DDTs), HCH (hexachlorocyclohexane) isomers (HCHs), chlordane compounds (CHLs), and HCB (hexachlorobenzene) were examined in mussels collected from coastal waters of Asian countries such as Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Far East Russia, Singapore, and Vietnam in 1994, 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2001 to elucidate the contamination status, distribution and possible pollution sources and to assess the risks on aquatic organisms and human. OCs were detected in all mussels collected from all the sampling sites investigated. Considerable residue levels of p,p(')-DDT and alpha-HCH were found in mussels and the concentrations of DDTs and HCHs found in mussels from Asian developing countries were higher than those in developed nations suggesting present usage of DDTs and HCHs along the coastal waters of Asian developing countries. On the other hand, lower concentrations of PCBs detected in mussels from Asian developing countries than those in developed countries indicate that PCBs contamination in mussels is strongly related to industrial and activities. To our knowledge, this is a first comprehensive report on monitoring OCs pollution in the Asia-Pacific region.     

Microstructures and compositional variation in the intravolcanic bole clays from the eastern Deccan volcanic province: Palaeoenvironmental implications and duration of volcanism

Clay minerals associated with intra-volcanic bole horizons of varied colours and thicknesses contain montmorillonite, halloysite and kaolinite, show distinct microstructures and microaggregates. In kaolinite, Fe³⁺ ions substitute for Al³⁺ at octahedral sites. Most of these clays are dioctahedral type, show balance between net layer and interlayer charges. The interstratified illite — smectite (I/S) mixed layers containing variable proportions of montmorillonite. Illite contains sheet-like, well oriented microaggregates. The parallel stacks of chlorite sheets show chlorite/smectite (C/S) mixed layers. Progressive enrichment of Fe and depletion of Al ions with the advancement of kaolinization process is observed. High order of structural and compositional maturity observed in these bole clays, indicate long hiatus between the two volcanic episodes.     

Geochemistry and petrogenesis of Biabanak-Bafq mafic magmatism: Implication for the evolution of central Iranian terrane

Precambrian magmatism in the Biabanak-Bafq district represents an extensive sequence of mafic magmatic rocks. Major, trace and rare earth elements reveal that the low-Ti basement mafic rocks are magnesium tholeiite and low-Ti cover a mafic rock belongs to Fe-tholeiite, whereas, the high-Ti alkaline mafic rocks, as well as dolerites, show much more Fe–Ti enrichment. Primitive mantle normalized trace element patterns show a relative enrichment of LREE and LILE and depletion of HFSE, but have an equally distinct continental signature reflected by marked negative Nb, Sr, P, and Ti anomalies. The composition of the intrusive rocks is consistent with fractional crystallization of olivine ± clinopyroxene ± plagioclase, whereas variations in the Sr and Nd isotope compositions suggest heterogeneous sources and crustal contamination. Low-Ti group samples contain a crustal signature in the form of high La/Yb, Zr/Nb, and negative \(\varepsilon \hbox {Nd}\) values. In contrast, high-Ti mafic magmatic rocks display an increase in La/Yb with a decrease in Proterozoic alkaline rocks recognized across the central Iran. The presence of diverse mafic magmatic rocks probably reflects heterogeneous nature of sub-continental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) source. The mafic magmatism largely represents magmatic arc or rift tectonic setting. It is suggested that the SCLM sources were enriched by subduction processes and asthenospheric upwelling.