Thinking Outside the Boxcar: Effective and Sustainable Combined Remedies Using Single Application of Multifunctional Amendments

The combined remedy approach to groundwater remediation optimizes contaminated site cleanup as measured by technical efficacy and sustainability. Regardless of the potential for improving site cleanups, there are several obstacles limiting the implementation of combined remedies. The obstacles primarily stem from an inability of liability owners to easily determine if economic costs are synergistic or additive and from regulatory hesitancy to codify needed timing and technology sequencing flexibility within design documents. These obstacles can often be circumvented by employing multicomponent and multifunctional remedial amendment formulations delivered with a single application. Case studies are presented that demonstrate efficacy of this combined remedies approach. The sustainability of the approach is also assessed by evaluation of economic viability, social productivity, and environmental protection. The case studies include combined abiotic and biotic degradation of chlorinated ethene and ethane compounds, combined reductive, and microaerophilic treatment of chlorinated benzenes, and combined chemical oxidation and biodegradation of petroleum compounds. Case studies are supported with conventional concentration trends and advanced diagnostics including compound specific isotope analysis (CSIA) and genetic‐based molecular biological tools (MBTs).     

Plateau reduction by drainage divide migration in the Eastern Cordillera of Colombia defined by morphometry and 10Be terrestrial cosmogenic nuclides

Catchment‐wide erosion rates were defined using ¹⁰Be terrestrial cosmogenic nuclides for the Eastern Cordillera of the Colombian Andes to help determine the nature of drainage development and landscape evolution. The Eastern Cordillera, characterized by a smooth axial plateau bordered by steep flanks, has a mean erosion rate of 11 ± 1 mm/ka across the plateau and 70 ± 10 mm/ka on its flanks, with local high rates >400 mm/ka. The erosional contrast between the plateau and its flanks was produced by the increase in the orogen regional slope, derived from the progressive shortening and thickening of the Eastern Cordillera. The erosion rates together with digital topographic analysis show that the drainage network is dynamic and confirms the view that drainage divides in the Eastern Cordillera are migrating towards the interior of the mountain belt resulting in progressive drainage reorganization from longitudinal to transverse‐dominated rivers and areal reduction of the Sabana de Bogotá plateau. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Preliminary soil micromorphology studies of landscape and occupation history at Tabon Cave,Palawan, Philippines

Preliminary soil micromorphology study of cultural sediments at Tabon Cave, Philippines, supports interpretations of sporadic occupation in the Paleolithic. The presence in some deposits of authigenic minerals potentially related to altered cultural materials, such as ash, needs further investigation. Later in the sequence there is a marked change in local depositional processes, with the onset of significant quartz sand deposition in layers dating from the Middle to Late Holocene. This could relate to beach development in the area. Future sedimentological study and dating would confirm this interpretation, which suggests that in appropriate settings, stratified cave sediments could be useful for the study of regional sea level rise. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The Middle Pleistocene terraces of the central Waveney valley,Earsham, south Norfolk,UK

Although substantial work has been done on the pre-glacial terraces of East Anglia, very little systematic work has been done to understand the origin of river terraces in East Anglia that have formed since ice last covered the region. This paper records the results of studies of exposures and borehole records in ‘classical’ Quaternary terrace landforms that are considered to have formed since the Anglian (MIS 12) Glaciation, in the middle Waveney Valley. These features have been examined in terms of their morphological and sedimentological properties, in order to provide a detailed record of their form and composition, understand their processes of formation, and identify their stratigraphical status. The results show that the main body of the highest terrace (Homersfield Terrace, Terrace 3) is not composed of river sediments, but of shallow marine sediments, and is a remnant of early Middle Pleistocene Wroxham Crag. River sediments, in the form of Anglian age (MIS 12) glaciofluvial Aldeby Sands and Gravels also exist in the area as a channel fill, cut through the Wroxham Crag, and reflect outwash erosion and sedimentation from a relatively proximal ice margin to the west. The results mean that the interpretations previously presented for the terrace landforms of the middle Waveney valley are not applicable. The issue of why the terrace stratigraphy, hitherto identified in East Anglia cannot be related to that for the River Thames to the south and the rivers of Midland England to the west, still requires further research.     

Evolution of the Taupo-Hikurangi subduction system

The present day Taupo-Hikurangi subduction system is a southward extension of the Tonga-Kermadec Arc system into a sediment-rich continental margin environment. It consists of a shallow structural trench (the Hikurangi Trough), a 150 km wide, imbricate thrust controlled accretionary borderland (the continental slope, shelf, and coastal hills of eastern North Island), a frontal ridge (the main “greywacke” ranges of North Island), and a volcanic arc and marginal basin (the Taupo Volcanic Zone).Structural elements become progressively more elevated and subduction more oblique towards the south. The whole NNE-trending system is truncated at a largely strike-slip, transform boundary that extends along the southwestern part of the Hikurangi Trough and the Hope fault of South Island to the main Alpine Fault.The volcanic arc is 200–270 km from the structural trench and comprises a NNE trending chain of andesite-dacite volcanoes extending along the eastern side of the Taupo Volcanic Zone. Most of the andesites are olivine-bearing and have been erupted within the last 50,000 years.It is suggested the Taupo-Hikurangi margin has evolved by rotation of accretionary elements, from an original NW-trending subduction system north of New Zealand. The older elements of the prism were associated with subduction of a re-entrant of the Pacific Plate (and perhaps the South Fiji Basin) in Mid Tertiary times. They subsequently became separated from their NW-trending volcanic arc by dextral strike-slip movement along curved faults east of the main “greywacke” ranges. During the Plio-Pleistocene, oblique subduction and accretion intensified as the Taupo-Hikurangi margin rotated into line with the NNE-trending Kermadec system and a marginal basin was developed along a similar trend to form the Taupo Volcanic Zone. Within the last 50,000 years olivine-bearing andesite volcanism has commenced along the eastern side of the Taupo Volcanic Zone.     

A carbonaceous inclusion from the Krymka LL-chondrite: noble gases and trace elements

A black inclusion from the Krymka LL3 chondrite was analyzed for 20 trace elements and five noble gases, by radiochemical neutron activation and mass spectrometry. The trace element pattern somewhat resembles that of C1 or C2 chondrites, but with several unique features. Elements of nebular condensation T ? 1000 K (U, Re, Os, Ir, Ni, Pd, Au, Sb and Ge) are essentially undepleted, as in C1 chondrites, but $\text{Re}\text{Ir}$ is 1.49 × higher than the characteristic Cl value. Among elements condensing below 1000 K, Cs, Se, Te, and In are depleted to approximately C2 levels (~0.6 × C1), whereas Ag, Bi, Tl are enriched to ~ 1.6 × C1. Such enrichments are thought to be characteristic of late nebular condensates.The noble-gas pattern also is unique. Gas contents are higher than in C1s, by factors of 2.6 to 19 for Ne through Xe. The $\text{Ar}{}^{36}\text{Xe}{}^{132}$ ratio of 500 is higher than mean values for C1s or C2s (109 or 89) and exceeds even the highest value seen in C3Os, 420, whereas the $\text{He}{}^4\text{Ne}{}^{20}$ ratio of 62 is much lower than the values for C1s and C2s (200–370). The $\text{Xe}{}^{129}\text{Xe}{}^{132}$ and $\text{Xe}{}^{136}\text{Xe}{}^{\mathrm{l32}}$ ratios of 1.040 and 0.320 resemble those of C1 chondrites, and seem to imply typical proportions of radiogenic Xe¹²⁹ and ‘fissiogenic’ xenon.It appears that the inclusion represents a new primitive meteorite type, similar to C-chondrites, but probably a late condensate from a region of higher nebular pressure.     

Chlorite-illite/muscovite interlayered and interstratified crystals: A TEM/STEM study

Phyllosilicates in rocks which are transitional from mudstone to slate from Lehigh Gap, Pa., have been studied by a variety of techniques, including high resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy and Analytical Electron Microscopy. The principal minerals are white mica which is transitional from illite in mudstone to ordered twolayer mica in slate, and chlorite. 7Å berthierine occurs more rarely. Dioctahedral and trioctahedral layers are shown to be interleaved in individual crystals at all scales between the following two end members: (1) both random and regular 11 interlayering at the scale of individual layers, as shown, in part, by lattice fringe images. (2) packets of trioctahedral and dioctahedral layers up to a few thousand Ångstroms or microns in thickness, detectable with ordinary optical techniques. The complete range of intermediate structures is represented in samples which are in transition to slate. Bulk analytical (EMPA), X-ray diffraction or other measurements are shown to result in averages over both kinds of layers when TEM techniques are not used.Contribution No. 400 from the Mineralogical Laboratory, Department of Geological Sciences, The University of Michigan     

Taxonomic distinctness in the diet of two sympatric marine turtle species

Marine turtles are considered keystone consumers in tropical coastal ecosystems and their decline through overexploitation has been implicated in the deterioration of reefs and seagrass pastures in the Caribbean. In the present study, we analysed stomach contents of green (Chelonia mydas) and hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) harvested in the legal turtle fishery of the Turks and Caicos Islands (Caribbean) during 2008–2010. Small juveniles to adult‐sized turtles were sampled. Together with data from habitat surveys, we assessed diet composition and the taxonomic distinctness (and other species diversity measures) in the diets of these sympatric marine turtle species. The diet of green turtles (n = 92) consisted of a total of 47 taxa: including three species of seagrass (present in 99% of individuals), 29 species of algae and eight sponge species. Hawksbill turtles (n = 45) consumed 73 taxa and were largely spongivorous (16 species; sponges present in 100% of individuals) but also foraged on 50 species of algae (present in 73% of individuals) and three species of seagrass. Plastics were found in trace amounts in 4% of green turtle and 9% of hawksbill turtle stomach samples. We expected to find changes in diet that might reflect ontogenetic shifts from small (oceanic‐pelagic) turtles to larger (coastal‐benthic) turtles. Dietary composition (abundance and biomass), however, did not change significantly with turtle size, although average taxonomic distinctness was lower in larger green turtles. There was little overlap in prey between the two turtle species, suggesting niche separation. Taxonomic distinctness routines indicated that green turtles had the most selective diet, whereas hawksbill turtles were less selective than expected when compared with the relative frequency and biomass of diet items. We discuss these findings in relation to the likely important trophic roles that these sympatric turtle species play in reef and seagrass habitats.     

Isotope anomalies in tellurium and palladium from Allende nanodiamonds

Abstract— ‐The elemental and isotopic abundances of Te and Pd have been measured by thermal ionization mass spectrometry in a purified sample of interstellar nanodiamonds from the Allende meteorite, after combustion of the diamonds in an oxygen plasma. Small positive anomalies were found in ¹²⁸Te (4.0 ± 1.5 %0) and ¹³⁰Te (9.3 ± 2.8 %0) from three analyses of the Allende nanodiamond sample EB, and in ¹¹⁰Pd (9.4 ± 5.7 %0) from two analyses of the same sample. No other anomalies of a significant nature were found in either Te or Pd. These results are consistent with the neutron burst model (Meyer et al., 2000), and the r‐process based rapid separation model of Ott (1996) in that ^{128, 130}Te and ¹¹⁰Pd are enhanced relative to their solar abundances. However, in the framework of the neutron burst model, some separation between stable products and radioactive precursors may be required in order to be consistent with the full data set of Te isotopes. In the framework of the rapid separation scenario, our data suggests a separation time of approximately 4000 s, based on the magnitudes of the precursor life‐times for ¹²⁸Te and ¹³⁰Te. The elemental abundance ratio Te‐H/Xe‐H agrees with the prediction of the rapid separation model, provided little fractionation occurred during trapping of the exotic components by the diamonds, but differs significantly from expectations based on the neutron burst model. Differences in the inferred ¹²⁸Te/¹³⁰Te ratio between our work and that of Richter et al. (1998) point to the need for further investigations.