The effects of humic substances on the transport of radionuclides: Recent improvements in the prediction of behaviour and the understanding of mechanisms

Some recent developments made during the European Union 6th Framework Integrated Project FUNMIG in the understanding and prediction of behaviour in ternary systems of radionuclides, humic substances and mineral surfaces are described. These developments are placed in the context of the existing literature. The aim is to describe the current understanding of humic substance mediated radionuclide transport as it may be applied to calculations in support of Radiological Performance Assessment. Some improvements in experimental techniques that provide the raw data to calibrate metal ion binding models are explained. The various metal ion binding models that are available are described and contrasted, before the recent development of ternary system models, in particular the Ligand Charge Distribution model that can predict metal ion and humic substance behaviour in ternary systems. The kinetic effects in ternary systems are described along with the models that are used to describe them. Finally, the remaining challenges in making predictions of radionuclide transport for the Radiological Performance Assessment of radioactive waste repositories are discussed.     

Socioeconomic impacts of environmental risks in the western Makran zone (Chabahar,Iran)

Natural Hazards - The western Makran subduction zone is capable of producing considerable tsunami run-up heights that penetrate up to 5 km inland. In this study, we show how climate change...     

Ancient harbors and Holocene morphogenesis of the Ras Ibn Hani peninsula (Syria)

Ras Ibn Hani peninsula, a wave-dominated tombolo (800 × 1000 m) on the Syrian coast, provides evidence for significant Holocene changes that can be linked to geological inheritance, rising post-glacial sea level, sediment supply and human impacts. Initial development of Ras Ibn Hani's coastal system began ~ 8000 years ago when shallow marine environments formed in a context of rising post-glacial sea level. Following relative sea-level stabilization ~ 6000 cal yr BP, beach facies trace the gradual formation of a wave-dominated sandbank fronted by a ~ 2300 × ~ 500 m palaeo-island whose environmental potentiality was attractive to Bronze Age societies. A particularly rapid phase of tombolo accretion is observed after ~ 3500 cal yr BP characterised by a two- to fourfold increase in sedimentation rates. This is consistent with (i) a pulse in sediment supply probably driven by Bronze Age/Iron Age soil erosion in local catchments, and (ii) positive feedback mechanisms linked to regionally attested neotectonics. Archaeological remains and radiocarbon datings confirm that the subaerial tombolo was probably in place by the Late Bronze Age. These data fit tightly with other eastern Mediterranean tombolo systems suggesting that there is a great deal of predictability to their geology and stratigraphy at the regional scale.     

疏松质石笋碳酸盐的精确微区取样

高分辨率极端气候事件是古气候研究中的一个热点。作为重要的古气候信息载体之一的石笋,以其每年几十到几百微米的生长速率,为提取高分辨率古气候代用指标提供了可能。而可靠的微区取样则是石笋高分辨率分析的重要前提。本文利用美国New Wave微区取样装置,对微区取样技术在石笋碳酸盐中的应用进行了探讨。在年层并非平直的疏松质石笋表面,于40 μm取样步长内,成功获得了平均质量约为100 μg的石笋微区分析样品。所获得的年内分辨率样品可同时提供微量元素分析和稳定同位素分析。重点讨论了石笋微区取样过程中必须注意的样品固定和取样参数设置等关键问题,提供了有效收集石笋微区样品和避免样品交叉污染的方法。     

Oceanic electromagnetic studies: A review

The review covers the main results of the oceanic electromagnetic studies presented during last 4–5 years. Seafloor electromagnetic observations are dedicated to studies in solid Earth geophysics and oceanography. Thus, a large range of objectives and targets are under investigation. Technological and theoretical advances provide an increase of quantity and quality of the collected seafloor data. The host conductivity models for oceanic crust and mantle are being developed; the possibility of obtaining useful structural constraints in heterogeneous environment are discussed. Significant oceanographic results were derived from electromagnetic field observations; these appeared to be a new powerful method for study of long-term large-scale ocean variability.     

Dispelling a myth? Second homes in rural Wales

Second homes have been a source of considerable controversy in Wales for more than three decades. In this article we argue that they have, in reality, become less important in recent times, with the market contracting during the 1990s and other more fundamental demographic changes and housing pressures coming to the fore. Second homes are a highly localized issue, affecting a minority of communities – though, at times, quite severely. Retirement and other housing pressures, however, bring more significant socio-economic changes and these pressures are all too frequently amplified by a planning system used to restrict housing supply rather than manage growth. This paper has three parts, beginning with a general review of the second home debate followed by an examination of the changing geography of second homes, showing how the distribution of these properties altered during the 1990s and how the market contracted. It ends with a review of secondary data, revealing that second homes are a relatively small component of wider processes affecting rural communities, though extremely significant in some areas.     

A Case Study on the Evaluation and Implementation of Green and Sustainable Remediation Principles and Practices During a RCRA Corrective Action Cleanup

Green and Sustainable Remediation (GSR) principles and practices were incorporated into various phases of the remediation life cycle during a Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Corrective Action cleanup. GSR best management practices (BMPs) were identified and employed to the extent possible during the investigation, remedy evaluation, and remedy implementation phases of the cleanup. As part of the remedy evaluation phase, potential remedial alternatives were evaluated against GSR principles and practices to support the selection of a preferred remedial alternative. This included the identification of inherent GSR similarities within the five existing RCRA balancing criteria and the development of a sixth new balancing criterion. The sixth criterion consisted of five relevant GSR categories, including consumption of resources and materials, CO₂ emissions, waste minimization and reuse, community benefit, and corporate image and corporate sustainability. Because of the lack of consensus, the constantly evolving nature, and limited guidance associated with GSR, various GSR‐related uncertainties and barriers were encountered. These uncertainties and barriers primarily related to the development of a GSR evaluation approach; contractual mechanisms; worker routines; regulatory agency support; and facility benefits, incentives, and recognition. In an effort to overcome some of these uncertainties and barriers, professional judgment was used to support various decision‐making processes. The GSR evaluation and implementation approaches considered are discussed in this case study as well as the various uncertainties and barriers encountered. In general, this case study provides a successful demonstration of GSR, given guidance limitations, facility permit constraints, complexities associated with site‐specific conditions, and a situation where the most feasible options were not considered the most green and sustainable (primarily because of their energy‐intensive nature, resource consumption, or waste generation).     

Tsunami impact assessment: development of vulnerability matrix for critical infrastructure and application to Christchurch,New Zealand

Natural Hazards - Tsunamis can have severe impacts on society. In addition to casualties and damage to buildings, they can also damage and disrupt critical infrastructure. To support effective risk...     

A preliminary methods comparison for measurement of dissolved organic nitrogen in seawater

Routine determination of dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) is performed in numerous laboratories around the world using one of three families of methods: UV oxidation (UV), persulfate oxidation (PO), or high temperature combustion (HTC). Essentially all routine methods measure total dissolved nitrogen (TDN) and calculate DON by subtracting the dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN). While there is currently no strong suggestion that any of these methods is inadequate, there are continuing suspicions of slight inaccuracy by UV methods.This is a report of a broad community methods comparison where 29 sets (7 UV, 13 PO, and 9 HTC) of TDN analyses were performed on five samples with varying TDN and DIN concentrations. Analyses were done in a “blind” procedure with results sent to the first author. With editing out one set of extreme outliers (representing 5 out of 145 ampoules analyzed), the community comparability for analyzing the TDN samples was in the 8–28% range (coefficient of variation representing one standard deviation for the five individual samples by 28 analyses). When DIN concentrations were subtracted uniformly (single DIN value for each sample), the comparability was obviously worse (19–46% cv). This comparison represents a larger and more diverse set of analyses, but the overall comparability is only marginally better than that of the Seattle workshop of a decade ago. Grouping methods, little difference was seen other than inconclusive evidence that the UV methods gave TDN values for several of the samples higher than HTC methods. Since there was much scatter for each of the groups of methods and for all analyses when grouped, it is thought that more uniformity in procedures is probably needed. An important unplanned observation is that variability in DIN analyses (used in determining the final analyte in most UV and PO methods) is essentially as large as the variability in the TDN analyses.This exercise should not be viewed as a qualification exercise for the analysts, but should instead be considered a broad preliminary test of the comparison of the families of methods being used in various laboratories around the world. Based on many independent analyses here, none of the routinely used methods appears to be grossly inaccurate, thus, most routine TDN analyses being reported in the literature are apparently accurate. However, it is not reassuring that the ability of the international community to determine DON in deep oceanic waters continues to be poor. It is suggested that as an outgrowth of this paper, analysts using UV and PO methods experiment and look more carefully at the completeness of DIN conversion to the final analyte and also at the accuracy of their analysis of the final analyte. HTC methods appear to be relatively easy and convenient and have potential for routine adoption. Several of the authors of this paper are currently working together on an interlaboratory comparison on HTC methodology.