Metal fluxes to the sediments of the northern Venice Lagoon

Eighteen short cores were analyzed for major and trace metals (Al, Fe, Ca, Mg, Mn, Si, K, Ti, Pb, Zn, Cu, Ni, Cr), ²¹⁰Pb, ¹³⁷Cs, and other sediment characteristics, so as to describe the chronology of pollution and calculate metal concentration factors and fluxes. Substantial evidence was found that trace metal profiles are influenced by anthropogenic sources and by changes in sediment composition. Only Zn presents concentrations (up to 13.1 μmol g⁻) and concentration factors (1.3 to 13.2) that can be attributed to heavy contamination. Pb, Cu and Ni, in this order, are less significant. The areal distribution of concentrations and inventories reflects the importance of direct sources, in particular the industrial area of Porto Marghera and the Dese river. The inventories of excess metals, above pre-industrial levels, were determined for each core and the three different parts of the study area, the amounts of Zn accumulated in sediments are 11.0 Mmol, 5.1 Mmol and 0.37 Mmol in the Campalto, S. Erasmo, and Palude di Cona areas, respectively. Ruxes were also calculated and compared with those suggested for the atmospheric delivery by Cochran et al. [(1995)b. Atmospheric fluxes of heavy metal contaminants to the Venice Lagoon, Rapp. Comm. Int. Mer Médit., 34, 136.], the atmospheric contribution is predominant or significant in many cases, especially at sites far from the major local inputs. Concentrations and fluxes show a significant increase in the anthropogenic metal supply starting from the second decade of this century, with maximum inputs in the period between the (1930)s and the (1970)s. At some stations a decrease in heavy metal contamination of surficial sediments was found and this could be ascribed to a reduced input of pollutants in recent years.     

Understanding shallow gas occurrences in the Gulf of Lions

New coring data have been acquired along the western Gulf of Lions showing anomalous concentrations of methane (up to 95,700 ppm) off the Rhône prodelta and the head of the southern canyons Lacaze-Duthiers and Cap de Creus. Sediment cores were acquired with box and kasten cores during 2004–2005 on several EuroSTRATAFORM cruises. Anomalous methane concentrations are discussed and integrated with organic carbon data. Sampled sites include locations where previous surveys identified acoustic anomalies in high-resolution seismic profiles, which may be related to the presence of gas. Interpretation of the collected data has enabled us to discuss the nature of shallow gas along the Gulf of Lions, and its association with recent sedimentary dynamics. The Rhône prodelta flood deposits deliver significant amounts of terrigenous organic matter that can be rapidly buried, effectively removing this organic matter from aerobic oxidation and biological uptake, and leading to the potential for methanogenesis with burial. Away from the flood-related sediments off the Rhône delta, the organic matter is being reworked and remineralized on its way along the western coast of the Gulf of Lions, with the result that the recent deposits in the canyon contain little reactive carbon. In the southernmost canyons, Lacaze-Duthiers and Cap de Creus, the gas analyses show relatively little shallow gas in the core samples. Samples with anomalous gas (up to 5,000 ppm methane) are limited to local areas where the samples also show higher amounts of organic matter. The anomalous samples at the head of the southern canyons may be related to methanogenesis of recent drape or of older sidewall canyon infills.     

Identification of SNARE proteins in fish-Tilapia Oreochromis niloticus

1 IntroductionSecretion is a basic function of all living organ-isms. In fish, like in mammals, neurotransmitters,hormones, enzymes and other macromolecules aresecreted in several neuronal, neuroendocrine and ex-ocrine organs and tissues located in brain,…     

Magnetotelluric investigation on Björkö impact structure,west of Stockholm,Sweden

This paper describes the application of magnetotelluric (MT) method to investigate Björkö impact structure located at west of Stockholm, Sweden. This structure has formed in crystalline rocks ca. 1.2 Ga ago and located relatively close to the district heating infrastructure of the Stockholm region, as the largest district heating system in Europe. Since impact structures mostly contain fractured rock volumes in the form of breccia formations, the occurred brecciation zones in this region are more favorable potential targets for geothermal investigations. The main objective is evaluating the capability of the study area to have potential for geothermal resources by mapping the subsurface structure. To image electrical characteristic of underground layers, 1D and 2D bimodal inversions of TE and TM modes of MT data are performed. The results are also compared with the outputs of the inversion of the determinant data (yielding a direction-independent average of the subsurface conductivity) along the same profiles, proving good accordance of the outputs. The processed resistivity sections at depth along with measuring various rock physical properties across two drilled boreholes at Björkö and Midsommar islands localized two conductors at depths of 1 km and from 2.5 to 4.5 km, which may be attributed to be a potential zone for geothermal energy retrieval.     

Understanding fen hydrology across multiple scales

Fens, which are among the most biodiverse of wetland types in the USA, typically occur in glacial landscapes characterized by geo‐morphologic variability at multiple spatial scales. As a result, the hydrologic systems that sustain fens are complex and not well understood. Traditional approaches for characterizing such systems use simplifying assumptions that cannot adequately capture the impact of variability in geology and topography. In this study, a hierarchical, multi‐scale groundwater modelling approach coupled with a geologic model is used to understand the hydrology of a fen in Michigan. This approach uses high‐resolution data to simulate the multi‐scale topographic and hydrologic framework and lithologic data from more than 8500 boreholes in a statewide water well database to capture the complex geology. A hierarchy of dynamically linked models is developed that simulates groundwater flow at all scales of interest and to delineate the areas that contribute groundwater to the fen. The results show the fen receiving groundwater from multiple sources: an adjacent wetland, local recharge, a nearby lake and a regional groundwater mound. Water from the regional mound flows to an intermediate source before reaching the fen, forming a ‘cascading’ connection, while other sources provide water through ‘direct’ connections. The regional mound is also the source of water to other fens, streams and lakes in this area, thus creating a large, interconnected hydrologic system that sustains the entire ecosystem. In order to sustainably manage such systems, conservation efforts must include both site‐based protection and management, as well as regional protection and management of groundwater source areas. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A note on the howard-Malkus-Whitehead floating heat sources

Abstract

Some deficiencies in a recent paper by Howard, Malkus and Whitehead are examined. The problem is reformulated in terms of an integro-differential equation, from which both asymptotic and numerical solutions are obtained.     

Continuation of the San Andreas fault system into the upper mantle: Evidence from spinel peridotite xenoliths in the Coyote Lake basalt, central California

The Coyote Lake basalt, located near the intersection of the Hayward and Calaveras faults in central California, contains spinel peridotite xenoliths from the mantle beneath the San Andreas fault system. Six upper mantle xenoliths were studied in detail by a combination of petrologic techniques. Temperature estimates, obtained from three two-pyroxene geothermometers and the Al-in-orthopyroxene geothermometer, indicate that the xenoliths equilibrated at 970–1100 °C. A thermal model was used to estimate the corresponding depth of equilibration for these xenoliths, resulting in depths between 38 and 43 km. The lattice preferred orientation of olivine measured in five of the xenolith samples show strong point distributions of olivine crystallographic axes suggesting that fabrics formed under high-temperature conditions. Calculated seismic anisotropy values indicate an average shear wave anisotropy of 6%, higher than the anisotropy calculated from xenoliths from other tectonic environments. Using this value, the anisotropic layer responsible for fault-parallel shear wave splitting in central California is less than 100 km thick. The strong fabric preserved in the xenoliths suggests that a mantle shear zone exists below the Calaveras fault to a depth of at least 40 km, and combining xenolith petrofabrics with shear wave splitting studies helps distinguish between different models for deformation at depth beneath the San Andrea fault system.     

Kinetic rate laws derived from order parameter theory III: Al,Si ordering in sanidine

The time dependence of the ordering and disordering of Al and Si in sanidine is described within the framework of the kinetic rate laws developed in papers I and II of this series. It was found that the relevant order parameter Q _t is homogeneous and non-conserved. The rate law is:

Fallout radionuclides in the Pacific Ocean: Vertical and horizontal distributions,largely from GEOSECS stations

From GEOSECS stations, largely, the 1974 distributions of Pu and of¹³⁷Cs are described in the Pacific Ocean north of about 20°S latitude. Changes in some of these distributions are described from 1978 cruises by the authors.The Pacific exhibited, everywhere, a shallow subsurface layer of Pu-rich water with its concentration maximum at about 465 m in 1974; over a large portion of the central North Pacific a second layer of Pu-labelled water, less concentrated than the shallow layer, lay just above the bottom. Similar features were not observed in the case of¹³⁷Cs.The inventories of both Pu and¹³⁷Cs in the water column at most 1974 stations are substantially greater than those to be expected from world-wide fallout alone; these inventory excesses appear to be attributable to close-in fallout, but only if the ratio Pu/¹³⁷Cs in this source was much higher than in world-wide fallout. The North Pacific mean ratio of the inventories is 2.2 times that observed in world-wide fallout.Resolubilization of Pu both from sinking particles and from sediments explains peculiarities of its depth distributions.There is little evidence for tracer movement by sliding downward along density surfaces;¹³⁷Cs appears to have moved to depth by downmixing at the edge of the Kuroshio, and then moved horizontally and upward alongσ_t contours. The shallow Pu-rich layer shows no coordination with density, salinity or O₂ isopleths. The deep Pu-rich layer is restricted to a narrow range of O₂ concentrations that confirm its origin in the Aleutian Trench and rapid spread southward and laterally. Near-bottom circulation processes have been much more active than here-to-fore described.