Domestic water supply impacts by underground coal mining in Virginia, USA

 Underground coal mining can affect wells and springs used as water supplies. In Virginia, concerns over such impacts are felt by both surface owners and coal-mining firms. Virginia's geologic history has caused faults and fractures to be common in its coalfield region, relative to other Appalachian coal-mining areas. The results of 73 investigations of alleged domestic water supply impacts by underground mining were analyzed; the investigations were conducted by the Virginia Division of Mined Land Reclamation (VDMLR). This analysis was conducted with reference to guidelines that define a primary zone of underground mining influence where dewatering of aquifers is to be expected. The VDMLR data set included 27 investigations of alleged water supply impacts by partial-extraction room-and-pillar mines, 41 investigations of high-extraction room-and-pillar mines, and 4 investigations of longwall mines. VDMLR investigators found that 14 of 16 water supplies within the primary zone of influence were likely to have been affected by pillar-retreat mining, but no water supplies within the primary zone of influence for longwall and room-and-pillar mines were represented in the data base. VDMLR investigators found 42 of 56 water supplies outside of the primary zones were likely to have been affected by mining; these cases represented room-and-pillar, pillar-retreat, and longwall mining. Geologic circumstances not directly related to subsidence were found to be responsible for 31 of these 42 impacts. These geologic circumstances included subsurface fractures and other geologic features acting as aquifers that were drained by underground mining operations. VDMLR investigators also found some of the investigated water losses to have been caused by factors other than mining. These results demonstrate the inherent difficulties of any attempt to rigidly define a "zone of underground mining impact" based solely on mine subsidence effects, especially in regions where geologic faults and fractures are common such as the southwest Virginia coalfield. Received: 4 August 1995 · Accepted: 23 October 1995     

Surface associations of enzymes and of organic matter: Consequences for hydrolytic activity and organic matter remineralization in marine systems

The extent to which marine organic matter is associated with surfaces and the consequences of such associations for organic matter remineralization are the focus of considerable attention. Since extracellular enzymes operating outside microbial cells are required to hydrolyze organic macromolecules to sizes sufficiently small for substrate uptake, the effects of surface interactions–on enzymes as well as on substrates–for hydrolytic activity also require investigation. We used a simplified laboratory system consisting of a free (dissolved) polysaccharide (pullulan) and the same polysaccharide tethered to agarose beads to restrict mobility, plus the corresponding free enzyme (pullulanase) and the same enzyme sorbed to montmorillonite (Mte), to investigate systematically the consequences of surface associations of enzymes and of substrates on hydrolytic activity. Changes in substrate molecular weight were monitored with time to measure the course of enzymatic hydrolysis. Although hydrolysis of free substrate was nearly complete after 2 min incubation with the free enzymes, the sorbed enzymes also effectively hydrolyzed free substrate, and the data suggest that they retained activity longer in solution compared to the free enzymes. Sorbed enzymes progressively hydrolyzed the free substrate from > 50 kD to lower molecular weights during a 24 h incubation, with a final product distribution on average showing only 1.4% and 10.3% of substrate still in the > 50 kD and 10 kD size classes, while 46.6%, 29.3%, and 12.5% of substrate was in the 4 kD, monomer, and free tag size classes, respectively. This product distribution was very similar to that of the free substrate/free enzyme experiment. Tethering the substrate to agarose beads led to lower substrate release (2–3% of total substrate after 98 h incubation) into solution compared to the free substrate case. For tethered substrates, the state of the enzyme (free or sorbed) measurably affected the molecular weight distribution of the hydrolysis products, with free enzymes producing a higher fraction of high molecular weight hydrolysis products (28.7 ± 5.4% of substrate > 50 kD at the end of the incubation) compared to sorbed enzymes (11.6 ± 2.8% of substrate > 50 kD at the end of the incubation.) Tethered substrates were also hydrolyzed in a sediment slurry from surface sediments from Cape Lookout Bight, North Carolina; 0.1% of total substrate was released by enzymes naturally present in 1 cm³ of sediment after 144 h incubation, demonstrating that the enzymes naturally present in marine sediments are also capable of accessing tethered substrates. These investigations suggest that surface associations of enzymes in marine systems may extend the active lifetime of such enzymes, providing an opportunity for hydrolysis over longer periods of time and producing a different size spectrum of hydrolysis products relative to free enzymes. Furthermore, in well-mixed systems, surface-associated enzymes can hydrolyze substrates whose mobility is restricted, highlighting the importance of processes such as resuspension and bioturbation on organic matter remineralization.     

中华绒螯蟹精子形成过程酸性磷酸酶的分布特征

将金属盐法与光镜、电镜技术相结合，研究中华绒螯蟹精子形成过程中酸性磷酸酶分布的变化．研究表明，在精子形成的早期，酸性磷酸酶由细胞质中的内质网小泡上产生，随后出现在细胞核内、顶体囊膜上及顶体管内，并且反应产物逐渐由分布均匀的细密颗粒聚集成分布均匀的较大的颗粒；当精子成熟后酸性磷酸酶均匀分布在顶体管中，反应产物颗粒比较大，穿孔器部分发现有少量酸性磷酸酶分布。     

威海湾表层沉积物地球化学

本文对威海湾表层沉积物中的pH,Eh,s~(2-),N,P,Cu,Pb,Zn,Cd和有机质、石油11个化学要素进行了地球化学特征的研究。指出其分布特征及相关性受沉积环境的制约,同时评价了该湾的污染状况,为该湾的开发、利用、防治等提供了科学依据。     

杂色鲍碱性磷酸酶在醇、醛和酮溶液中的失活作用

报道了杂色鲍碱性磷酸酶(ALP)在甲醇、乙醇、丙醇、甲醛、丙酮等溶液中的失 活动力学．结果表明:酶的剩余活力随着有机溶剂浓度的增大而迅速下降．测得上述 5种有机溶剂对该酶的半抑制率(IC50)分别为5．41、3．07、1．80、31．0×10-3、2．30 mol／dm3．在这些有机溶剂溶液中酶的失活过程都是可逆反应．检测醇、醛、酮对该酶 的失活作用机理,结果表明甲醇、乙醇、丙醇对杂色鲍ALP的失活作用均为非竞争性 机制,其抑制常数分别为5．36、3．02、1．80mol／dm3．甲醛、丙酮对杂色鲍ALP的失活 作用都呈现为混合型抑制,其对游离酶的抑制常数(K1)分别为24．7×10-3、1．66 mol／dm3;对酶-底物络合物的抑制常数(KIS)分别为56．2×10-3、5．40mol／dm3．     

Simulation of three-dimensional finite-depth wave phenomenon for moving pressure distributions

The flow field and the bottom pressure signatures due to an air cushion vehicle are calculated by analytical and computational means. The singularities in the integrals from the theoretical analyses are removed by using the Cauchy's residue theorem and the resulting integrals are numerically evaluated by the adaptive quadrature routines of QUADPACK.     

Mercury methylation,demethylation and reduction rates in coastal and marine surface waters of the Mediterranean Sea

In situ experiments using isotopically labeled mercury species (¹⁹⁹Hg(II) and Me²⁰¹Hg) are used to investigate mercury transformation mechanisms, such as methylation, demethylation and reduction, in coastal and marine surface waters of the Mediterranean Sea. The aim of this work is to assess the relative contribution of photochemical versus biological processes to Hg transformation mechanisms. For this purpose, potential transformation rates measured under diurnal and dark incubation conditions are compared with major biogeochemical parameters (i.e. hydrological and biological data) in order to obtain the relative contribution of various biotic and abiotic mechanisms in both surface (high light) and bottom (low light) waters of the euphotic zone. The results demonstrate that coastal and marine euphotic zones are significant reactors for all Hg transformations investigated (i.e. methylation, demethylation, reduction). A major outcome demonstrates that Hg methylation is taking place in oxic surface seawater (0.3–6.3% day^− 1) and is mainly influenced by pelagic microorganism abundance and activities (phyto- and bacterioplankton). This evidences a new potential MeHg source in the marine water column, especially in oligotrophic deep-sea basins in which biogeochemistry is mostly governed by heterotrophic activity. For coastal and marine surface waters, although MeHg is mainly photochemically degraded (6.4–24.5% day^− 1), demethylation yields observed under dark condition may be attributed to microbial or chemical pathways (2.8–10.9% day^− 1). Photoreduction and photochemical reactions are the major mechanisms involved in DGM production for surface waters (3.2–16.9% day^− 1) but bacterial or phytoplanktonic reduction of Hg(II) cannot be excluded deeper in the euphotic zone (2.2–12.3% day^− 1). At the bottom of the euphotic zone, photochemical processes are thus avoided due to the attenuation of UV-visible sunlight radiation allowing biotic processes to be the most significant. These results suggest a new potential route for Hg species cycling in surface seawater and especially at the maximum biomass depth located at the bottom of the euphotic zone (i.e. maximum chlorophyll fluorescence). In this environment, DGM production and demethylation mechanisms are thus probably reduced whereas Hg methylation is enhanced by autotrophic and heterotrophic processes. Experimental results on mercury species uptake during these investigations further evidenced the strong affinity of MeHg for biogenic particles (i.e. microorganisms) that correspond to the first trophic level of the pelagic food web.     

Note on sediment sorting in a sandy bed under standing water waves

We present new quantitative data on the sorting of sediments on a sandy seabed under standing waves. Starting from a flat bed composed of a homogeneous mixture of a coarse and a fine sand with mean diameters 0.11 and 0.21 mm, we observed simultaneous ripple and sand bar formation and sand sorting on the seabed. Over days of wave action, sand bars formed with crests beneath the surface wave nodes and flat plateaus flanked by mounds beneath the antinodes. Bar crests were composed of sand coarser on average than 0.21 mm, while the flat plateaus were covered by sand finer on average than 0.11 mm. Comparison with two experiments involving sand beds of more homogeneous size distributions shows that the mounds are characteristic of the motion of fine suspensions.     

大亚湾表层沉积物镁铝含量比变化及影响因素

本文讨论了大亚湾沉积物镁铝含量比——m值的分布、季节变化及m值与水介质的关系,结果证实,水介质的盐度、pH和水温是m值的主要影响因素,且水介质的盐度是决定m值大小的最基本要素。当3个影响因素呈同向变化时,对m值的变化具有叠加作用,m值的变化幅度较大;当盐度与pH呈相反方向变化时,若△pH>0.06,可对m值产生明显的影响,m值的变化与pH同向。从大亚湾沉积物m值随季节变化的特征表明,m值对沉积环境中水介质变化的反应是灵敏的。这一结果显示了m值对水介质变化能够响应的灵敏度。     

Chemical and isotope compositions of shallow groundwater in areas impacted by hydraulic fracturing and surface mining in the Central Appalachian Basin,Eastern United States

Hydraulic fracturing of shale deposits has greatly increased the productivity of the natural gas industry by allowing it to exploit previously inaccessible reservoirs. Previous research has demonstrated that this practice has the potential to contaminate shallow aquifers with methane (CH₄) from deeper formations. This study compares concentrations and isotopic compositions of CH₄ sampled from domestic groundwater wells in Letcher County, Eastern Kentucky in order to characterize its occurrence and origins in relation to both neighboring hydraulically fractured natural gas wells and surface coal mines. The studied groundwater showed concentrations of CH₄ ranging from 0.05 mg/L to 10 mg/L, thus, no immediate remediation is required. The δ¹³C values of CH₄ ranged from −66‰ to −16‰, and δ²H values ranged from −286‰ to −86‰, suggesting an immature thermogenic and mixed biogenic/thermogenic origin. The occurrence of CH₄ was not correlated with proximity to hydraulically fractured natural gas wells. Generally, CH₄ occurrence corresponded with groundwater abundant in Na⁺, Cl⁻, and HCO₃⁻, and with low concentrations of SO₄²⁻. The CH₄ and SO₄²⁻concentrations were best predicted by the oxidation/reduction potential of the studied groundwater. CH₄ was abundant in more reducing waters, and SO₄²⁻ was abundant in more oxidizing waters. Additionally, groundwater in greater proximity to surface mining was more likely to be oxidized. This, in turn, might have increased the likelihood of CH₄ oxidation in shallow groundwater.