Biogeochemical behavior of arsenic species in the seine estuary in relation to successive high-amplitude primary production, anoxia, turbidity, and salinity events

Sixty samples were collected in June 1996 at regular intervals within the Seine estuary in France in order to study the arsenic (As) behavior in response to climatic and hydrologic conditions leading to major events in chlorophyll activity, anoxia, turbidity, and salinity. It was determined that arsenate (As5, 15–23 nM) is still the dominant chemical form of dissolved As in the upper, estuary. A concentration of up to 37 nM was observed in the high turbidity zone at the freshwater-seawater interface, presumably a result of pumping and remineralization of plankton particles that develop at salinities >10. The formation of arsenite (As3) was related to two processes: anoxia in the upper estuary and primary production in the superoxygenated, lower estuary. Dimethyl arsenic (DMA) concentrations (0 to 2.2 nM) were not directly correlated with chlorophyll content, but rather with oxygenation rates. Monomethyl arsenic (MMA) concentrations were low. Dissolved organoarsenic concentrations refractory to the formation of volatile hydrides showed high concentrations in the river estuary (1 to 6 nM), and their degradation was probably the cause of DMA and MMA and ultimately of the recycling of dissolved inorganic As. The remineralization of particulate arsenic (AsP) in the high turbidity zone at the freshwater-seawater interface, was apparent once AsP concentrations were normalized with respect to aluminium. This remineralization process, even though it does not exclude the possibility of intra-estuarine As inputs, could account for a major part of the high dissolved total As concentration observed in this specific zone, both in the Seine and other estuaries.     

Modeling of the transport and deposition of tungsten in the scheelite-bearing calc-silicate gneisses of the Montagne Noire,France

Scheelite-bearing calc-silicate gneisses (CSG) oceur in the Montagne Noire within a series of dominant micaschists. Detailed petrographical and mineralogical studies reveal three successive stages of metamorphism and hydrothermal alteration: (1) stage 1, a regional metamorphism at 550°C and 4.5 kb where no mineralization is formed; (2) stage 2a, a hydrothermal alteration at 500 to 450°C and 4 to 3 kb which is characterized by an intense sericitization of feldpars and deposition of Sn in Sn-bearing cale-silicates; and (3) stage 2b, a hydrothermal alteration characterized by the crystallization of idocrasegrossular in CSG with concomittant precipitation of scheelite. Tungsten was transported through the micaschist environment and deposited as scheelite only in the CSG of stage 2b at relatively low pressures. To characterize the mechanism of tungsten transport, tungsten speciation at high P-T and scheelite solubility in aqueous solations buffered by the CSG and by the micaschists assemblages were calculated. It was found that H₂WO ₀ ⁴ , HWO _- ⁴ and WO _2- ⁴ are the dominant tungsten aqueous species in H₂O–NaCl (one molal) solutions at 500°C and 2–4 kb. Calculations also indicate that scheelite deposition is controlled by decreasing pressure and increasing activity of aqueous calcium in this system. This is consistent with the petrographical and mineralogical observations. The consequences of the presence of volatiles (N₂, CH₄, CO₂) in the regional fluids were examined by determining the effect of N₂ on tungsten speciation and scheelite solubility. The addition of N₂ (up to 10 mol%) to the mineralizing fluids results in a marked increase in H₂WO ₀ ⁴ and HWO _- ⁴ concentrations relative to WO _2- ⁴ and in a large decrease of scheelite solubility. This mechanism favours scheelite precipitation and accounts for the commonly observed association of W (and Sn) deposits with graphitic series generating mixed volatiles fluids.     

North-South asymmetry in the solar flare index

This paper reports the results of a study of the N-S asymmetry in the flare index using the results of Knoka (1985) combined with our results for the solar cycles 17 to the current cycle 22. By comparing the time-variation of the asymmetry curve with the solar activity variation of the 11-year cycle, we have found that the flare index asymmetry curve is not in phase with the solar cycle and that the asymmetry peaks during solar minimum. A periodic behaviour in the N-S asymmetry appears: the activity in one hemisphere is more important during the ascending part of the cycle whereas during the descending part the activity becomes more important in the other hemisphere. The dominance of flare activity in the southern hemisphere continues during cycle 22 and, according to our findings, this dominance will increase gradually during the following cycle 23.     

Revealing information and equipment redundancies in air pollution monitoring networks in Turkey

Air pollution monitoring networks are the primary tools for measuring, managing and assessing air quality. However, these networks need considerable financial resources due to expensive devices and analyses, as well as such issues as the likely redundancy in the number of samples. The primary objective of this study was to identify possible information and equipment redundancies in Turkish monitoring networks. Thus, it is expected that the results of this study may help reduce air pollution monitoring expenses and increase monitoring efficiency. For this purpose, the Fuzzy C-Means clustering algorithm and time series analyses were used. This study has two novelties. First, this is the first study to be conducted for this purpose in Turkey. Further, Dickey–Fuller test statistics and model parameters have not been used as clustering variables before. Thus, it is expected that both stochastic behavior and concentration levels of PM₁₀ time series will be reflected simultaneously, and similarities among monitoring stations will be better identified.     

Subduction-related Late Cretaceous high-K volcanism in the Central Pontides orogenic belt: constraints on geodynamic implications

Mineral chemistry, major and trace elements, ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age and Sr–Nd–Pb isotopic data are presented for the Late Cretaceous Hamsilos volcanic rocks in the Central Pontides, Turkey. The Hamsilos volcanic rocks mainly consist of basalt, andesite and associated pyroclastics (volcanic breccia, vitric tuff and crystal tuff). They display shoshonitic and high-K calc-alkaline affinities. The shoshonitic rocks contain plagioclase, clinopyroxene, alkali feldspar, phlogopite, analcime, sanidine, olivine, apatite and titanomagnetite, whereas the high-K calc-alkaline rocks contain plagioclase, clinopyroxene, orthopyroxene, magnetite / titanomagnetite in microgranular porphyritic, hyalo-microlitic porphyritic and glomeroporphyritic matrix. Mineral chemistry data reveal that the pressure condition of the clinopyroxene crystallisation for the shoshonitic rocks are between 1.4 and 6.3 kbar corresponds to 6–18-km depth and the high-K calc-alkaline rocks are between 5 and 12 km. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age data changing between 72 ± .5 Ma and 79.0 ± .3 Ma (Campanian) were determined for the Late Cretaceous Hamsilos volcanic rocks, contemporaneous with the subduction of the Neo-Tethyan Ocean beneath the Pontides. The studied volcanic rocks were enriched in the large-ion lithophile and light rare earth element contents, with pronounced depletion in the contents of high-field-strength elements. Chondrite-normalised rare earth element patterns (La_N/Lu_N = 6–17) show low to medium enrichment, indicating similar sources of the rock suite. Initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values vary between .70615 and .70796, whereas initial ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd values change between .51228 and .51249. Initial ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb values vary between 18.001 and 18.349, ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb values between 15.611 and 15.629 and ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb values between 37.839 and 38.427. The main solidification processes involved in the evolution of the volcanic rocks consist of fractional crystallisation, with minor amounts of crustal contamination ± magma mixing. According to geochemical evidence, the shoshonitic melts in the Hamsilos volcanic rocks were possibly derived from the low degree of partial melting of a subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM), while the high-K calc-alkaline melts were derived from relatively high degree of partial melting of SCLM that was enriched by fluids and/or sediments from a subduction of oceanic crust.     

Does carbon finance make a sustainable difference? Hydropower expansion and livelihood trade‐offs in the Red River valley,Yunnan Province,China

The Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is a carbon credit trading scheme intended to reduce anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions and promote ‘sustainable development’. Hundreds of CDM‐sponsored hydroelectric dams have been constructed in southwest China's Yunnan Province, where carbon finance contributes substantial financial incentives to hydropower expansion. This article investigates whether riparian Handai farmers settled near the Madushan hydropower plant on the Chinese section of Red River have experienced positive outcomes from this project's participation in the CDM. I assess how Handai individuals' access to core livelihood assets has been modified following dam completion and probe how the CDM reconfigures scalar relations among the various stakeholders involved in hydropower governance in Yunnan. Though the CDM facilitates hydropower expansion, it fails to produce development that is more sustainable than ‘business as usual’ from a local perspective. Rather, the CDM consolidates hydropower governance in the same way as it unfolded in Yunnan before the province became an active participant in this scheme. The CDM also facilitates a national development campaign fostering specific socio‐economic modernization patterns in China's western provinces.     

The magnetic anisotropy of hematite bearing rocks

Summary The high field torque curves of hematite bearing rocks are not caused by directional differences in the energy of magnetization to saturation, but rather by the couple between the ferromagnetic moment and the applied field. An expression, derived for the high field torque curve of a single crystal of hematite, whose basal plane makes an arbitrary angle with the plane of rotation of the applied field, is found to be in excellent agreement with experiment. Furthermore it is shown that the Fourier spectrum of hematite bearing rocks should in general contain significant higher harmonics and that therefore the high field method is not particularly suitable for determining the preferred crystalline alignment of hematite bearing rocks.     

Inhibitory effects of divalent metal ions on liver microsomal 7-ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD) activity of leaping mullet

The purpose of the present study was to elucidate in vitro effects of Hg(2+), Zn(2+), Ni(2+) and Cd(2+) on cytochrome P4501A1 (CYP1A1) dependent EROD activities in leaping mullet liver microsomes. Fish captured from the most polluted part of Izmir Bay, had highly elevated EROD activities, and induced CYP1A1 protein levels as determined by Western blotting. Although all of the metal ions caused inhibition of the initial velocity of the reaction, Hg(2+) and Cd(2+) exhibited much higher inhibitory effect at lower concentrations and they were evidently more potent inhibitors than others. The inhibitor concentration giving 50% inhibition (IC(50) values) of Zn(2+), Ni(2+), Cd(2+) and Hg(2+) of initial EROD activity were 107, 16, 1.3 and 0.15 micromolar, respectively. Glutathione (GSH) at 0.5 mM final concentration, completely reversed Ni(2+) and Cd(2+) inhibition of EROD activity indicating the protective action of GSH.