Elimination of Carbamazepine,Diclofenac and Naproxen from Treated Wastewater by Nanofiltration

Most conventional wastewater treatment plants remove very small amounts of micropollutants, such as pharmaceuticals. Here, the ability of two different types of submerged nanofiltration flat sheet modules to remove pharmaceuticals from wastewater is analyzed. The two nanofiltration membranes were used at relatively low pressures of only 0.3 and 0.7 bar. At such low pressures, the membranes did not retain salts to a great extent. This is advantageous in wastewater treatment because no salt concentrate is produced. Carbamazepine was retained only slightly by the nanofiltration membranes, whereas approximately 60% of diclofenac and naproxen were retained by both membranes. This level of effectiveness might not be enough to justify the use of such a system as an additional treatment step in wastewater treatment plants.     

Uptake and tissue distribution of C4-C7 alkylphenols in Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua): relevance for biomonitoring of produced water discharges from oil production

The sensitivity of different tissues for assessment of chronic low-dose environmental exposure of fish to alkylphenols (APs) was investigated. We exposed Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) in the laboratory to tritium labelled 4-tert-butylphenol, 4n-pentylphenol, 4n-hexylphenol, and 4n-heptylphenol via seawater (8 ng/l) and via contaminated feed (5 μg/kg fish per day). Measurements of different fish tissues during eight days of exposure and eight subsequent days of recovery revealed that APs administered via spiked seawater were readily taken up whereas the uptake was far less efficient when APs were administered in spiked feed. AP residues were mainly located in the bile fluid whereas the concentrations in liver were very low, indicating a rapid excretion and the liver-bile axis to be the major route of elimination. The biological half-life of APs in the exposed cod was short, between 10 and 20 h. Our study shows that in connection with biomonitoring of AP exposure in fish, assessment of AP metabolites in bile fluid is a more sensitive tool than detection of parent AP levels in liver or other internal tissues.     

Geochemical studies on urban soil from two sampling depths in Tampere Central Region,Finland

Preliminary geochemical mapping was carried out within urban areas in Tampere Central Region, Finland, to gain a better understanding of element concentrations in urban soil and to provide information on baselines in soil within urban centres for soil contamination assessment purposes. The soil samples were taken from central city parks, day-care centres and school yards, and residential areas. Various sampling depths have generally been used in urban geochemical surveys. The aim of this study was to compare the results from two commonly used sample types taken from the same sites in urban soil: single samples of minerogenic topsoil from the 0–25 cm layer and composite samples of minerogenic topsoil from a depth of 0–2 cm. The concentrations of most of the studied trace elements showed a significant correlation between samples from 0 to 2 and 0 to 25 cm, but element concentrations differed between the two studied sample depths. For most of the studied elements, the median concentrations were higher in the 0–25 cm samples, but anomalous concentrations were more often found in the 0–2 cm samples. Some elements had elevated concentrations when compared with the Finnish guideline values for soil contamination assessment. This study did not conclusively establish whether a sampling depth of 0–2 or 0–25 cm should be recommended for similar studies in the future. Selection of the sampling depth in geochemical studies greatly depends on the aim of the project. In order to determine the upper limits of geochemical baseline variation, the deeper sampling depth appears to be more feasible. However, for the preliminary health risk assessment of areas with sensitive land uses, e.g. children’s playgrounds, samples from 0–2 cm depth are considered informative. Such samples may also be used to indicate local sources of dusting creating site-specific hotspots of potentially harmful elements in urban topsoil.     

Chironomid-based paleosalinity records in southern British Columbia, Canada: a comparison of transfer functions

Chironomid remains from Big Lake, British Columbia were analysed and paleosalinities were estimated using a pre-existing transfer function and several developed using new regression methods. A two component partial-least-squares model (PLS-2) had the highest coefficient of determination (R² _(Jackknifed) = 0.75) and lowest root-mean-squared error-of-prediction (RMSEP). As compared to the pre-existing model, it was also less sensitive to the influence of rare taxa. Nevertheless, the marginally larger R² _(Jackknifed) and lower RMSEP do not clearly identify a single best model. The models were applied to Big, Mahoney and Kilpoola lakes, revealing the sensitivity of paleosalinity inferences to model selection. A synopsis of chironomid-based paleosalinities in British Columbia and their correspondence with other paleoclimatic data are presented and discussed.     

Uranium–lead ages of apatite from iron oxide ores of the Bafq District,East-Central Iran

Iron oxide–apatite (IOA) deposits, often referred to as Kiruna-type iron ore deposits, are known to have formed from the Proterozoic to the Tertiary. They are commonly associated with calc–alkaline volcanic rocks and regional- to deposit-scale metasomatic alteration. In the Bafq District in east Central Iran, economic iron oxide–apatite deposits occur within felsic volcanic tuffs and volcanosedimentary sequences of Early Cambrian age. In order to constrain the age of formation of these ores and their relationship with the Early Cambrian magmatic event, we have determined the U–Pb apatite age for five occurrences in the Bafq District. In a ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U vs. ²⁰⁷Pb/²³⁵U diagram, apatite free of or poor in inclusions of other minerals plots along the Concordia between 539 and 527 Ma with four out of five samples from one deposit clustering at the upper end of this range. For this deposit, we interpret this cluster to represent the age of apatite formation, whereas the spread towards younger ages may reflect either minor Pb loss or several events of IOA formation. Apatite with inclusions of monazite (±xenotime) yields disturbed systems with inclusions having developed after formation of the iron ore–apatite deposits, possibly as late as 130–140 Ma ago. Obtained apatite ages confirms that (IOA) and the apatite-rich rocks (apatites) of the Bafq district formed coevally with the Early Cambrian magmatic (-metasomatic) events.     

New palaeomagnetic data from Central Iran and a Triassic palaeoreconstruction

New pole positions for Triassic and Cretaceous times have been obtained from volcanic and sedimentary sequences in Central Iran. These new results confirm the general trend of the Apparent Polar Wander Path (APWP) of the Central-East-Iran microplate (CEIM) from the Triassic through the Tertiary as published by Soffel and Förster (1983, 1984). Two new palaeopoles for the Triassic of the CEIM have been obtained; limestones and tuffs from the Nakhlak region yield a mean direction of 094.0°/25.0°, N=12, k=4.1,α ₉₅=24.7°, after bedding correction, corresponding to a palaeopole position of 310.8°E; 3.9°S, and volcanic rocks from the Sirjan regions yield a mean direction of 114.5°/35.1°, N=44, k=45.9,α ₉₅=3.2° after bedding correction and a palaeopole position of 295.8°E; 10.3°N. Combining these with the two previously published results yields a new palaeopole position of 317.5°E; 12.7°N, for the Triassic of the CEIM, thus confirming that large counterclockwise rotations of the CEIM have occurred since the Triassic time. New results have also been obtained from Cretaceous limestones from the Saghand region of the CEIM. The mean direction of 340.7°/26.3°, N=33, k=44.3,α ₉₅=3.8°, and the corresponding palaeopole position of 283.1°E; 64.4°N, is in agreement with previously determined Cretaceous palaeopole positions of the CEIM. Furthermore, results have also been obtained from Triassic dolomite, limestone, sandstone and siltstone from the Natanz region, which is located to the west of the CEIM. A total of 161 specimens from 44 cores taken at five sites gave a mean direction of the five sites at 033.3°/25.1°, N=5, k=69.0,α ₉₅=9.3° and a palaeopole position of 167.2°E; 53.7°N. They pass the positive fold test of McElhinny (1964) on the level of 99% confidence. This pole position is in fairly good agreement with the mean Triassic pole position of the Turan Plate (149°E; 49°N). It indicates that the area of Natanz has not undergone the large counterclockwise rotation relative to the Turan plate since the Triassic, which has been shown for the CEIM. A Triassic palaeogeographic reconstruction of Iran, Arabia (Gondwana) and the Turan Plate (Eurasia) is also presented.     

Forecasting Groundwater Temperature with Linear Regression Models Using Historical Data

Although temperature is an important determinant of many biogeochemical processes in groundwater, very few studies have attempted to forecast the response of groundwater temperature to future climate warming. Using a composite linear regression model based on the lagged relationship between historical groundwater and regional air temperature data, empirical forecasts were made of groundwater temperature in several aquifers in Switzerland up to the end of the current century. The model was fed with regional air temperature projections calculated for greenhouse‐gas emissions scenarios A2, A1B, and RCP3PD. Model evaluation revealed that the approach taken is adequate only when the data used to calibrate the models are sufficiently long and contain sufficient variability. These conditions were satisfied for three aquifers, all fed by riverbank infiltration. The forecasts suggest that with respect to the reference period 1980 to 2009, groundwater temperature in these aquifers will most likely increase by 1.1 to 3.8 K by the end of the current century, depending on the greenhouse‐gas emissions scenario employed.     

Application of the Single-Bubble Airgun Technique for OBS-Data Acquisition Across the Jan Mayen Ridge,North Atlantic

A 140 km long wide-angle seismic profile has been acquired by use of 6 Ocean Bottom Seismographs across the Jan Mayen Ridge, North Atlantic. The profile was acquired twice; once with a traditionally tuned standard source and secondly with a somewhat smaller source tuned on the first bubble pulse. Analysis of the frequency content of the data reveals that the single-bubble source within the 10-15 Hz frequency range generates a signal with a level about 5 db above that of the standard source. These differences can partly be related to differences in airgun depth. The higher output level for these frequencies enables the single-bubble source to resolve intra-crustal structures with a higher degree of certainty, when compared to the data acquired by use of the standard source array. The standard source seems to generate slightly more energy for frequencies around 6 Hz, probably due to the use of a large 1200 in/sup3 gun in this array. These low frequencies a re of importance for mapping of lower crustal and upper mantle structures, and it is recommended that this is taken into account when seismic sources for mapping of deep crustal and upper mantle structures are designed.