A New Reference Material for Tritium Organic Molecules in Sediment: Results of an International Intercomparison Exercise

Solid matrix ³H reference materials are challenging to prepare given the volatile nature of ³H and are often unrepresentative of the range of ³H forms that may be encountered during routine analysis. As a result, few ³H reference materials are currently available, undermining verification of analytical techniques for environmental ³H measurement. To address this, an International Working Group on Organically‐Bound Tritium Analysis determined to produce a tritium natural matrix reference material (NMRM). The reference material comprises marine sediment blended with sewage sludge contaminated with ³H‐organic species arising from authorised discharges from a radiopharmaceutical manufacturing site. Previous studies have demonstrated that the ³H species have persisted in the environment over three decades providing valuable supporting data to underpin the characterisation of the NMRM. The preparation and characterisation of the NMRM are described along with the subsequent application of the reference material in an international intercomparison exercise involving nineteen laboratories from nine countries. A reference value of 168 ± 22 Bq kg^?1 was derived from the data arising from the proficiency test.     

Comment on: Mass Fractions of Forty‐Six Major and Trace Elements,Including Rare Earth Elements,in Sediment and Soil Reference Materials Used in Environmental Studies. Fiket et al. (2017), Geostandards and Geoanalytical Research, 41, 123–135

This paper is intended to be a constructive discussion of Fiket et al. (2017, Geostandards and Geoanalytical Research , 41 , 123–135), who dealt with the determination of major, trace and rare earth elements in several sediment and soil certified reference materials. In the present author's view, the paper by Fiket et al. (2017) suffers from a lack of reference to several publications in which somewhat similar results had already been reported. The present contribution therefore provides a comparison of previously published results with those of Fiket et al. for the CRMs soil NCS DC 77302 (GBW 07410), stream sediment NCS DC 73309 (GBW 07311), marine sediments MESS‐3 and NCS DC 75301 (GBW 07314) and estuarine sediment IAEA‐405. It is argued that this fuller consideration (a) allows critical evaluation of the quality of the results presented by Fiket et al. and (b) highlights the advantages of their work. Finally, attention is drawn to the (possible or real) problems that can arise during simultaneous determination of multiple trace elements.     

High‐Precision Measurement of 187Os/188Os Isotope Ratios of Nanogram to Picogram Amounts of Os in Geological Samples by N‐TIMS using Faraday Cups Equipped with 1013 Ω Amplifiers

N(¹⁸⁷Os)/N(¹⁸⁸Os) ratios of six geological reference materials were measured using static Faraday cups (FCs) with 10¹³ Ω amplifiers by N‐TIMS. Our results show that the repeatability precision was 2–3‰ (2 RSD, n = 3), when taking ~ 1 g of BHVO‐2 with 76 pg g^?1 of Os mass fraction and ~ 2 g of BCR‐2 with 21 pg g^?1 of Os mass fraction for each sample, whether measured by FCs or by secondary electron multiplier. The repeatability precision measured by FCs was 1–0.2‰ (2 RSD, n = 3) when taking ~ 1 g of BIR‐2 with 350 pg g^?1 of Os mass fraction, ~ 1 g of WGB‐1 with 493 pg g^?1 of Os mass fraction or ~ 0.5 g of WPR‐1 with 13.3 ng g^?1 of Os mass fraction for each sample, which is much better than those measured by secondary electron multiplier. Instead, when taking ~ 2 g of AGV‐2 with 4 pg g^?1 Os mass fraction, the repeatability precision measured by secondary electron multiplier is 3–4‰ (RSD, n = 3), which is better than those measured by FCs. Of the six reference materials analysed, WPR‐1 and BIR‐1a are the most homogeneous with regard to Os isotopic composition (2 RSD of 0.08% and 0.23%, respectively) when test portion masses are 0.5–1 g.     

Determination of trace and rare-earth elements in Chinese soil and clay reference materials by ICP-MS

Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry(ICP-MS) has become a powerful tool for providing reliable analytical results in many laboratories around the word. In this study, the mixture of HF and HNO3 acids in high-temperature and high-pressure closed-vessel digestion technique were used to decompose some Chinese reference materials, and thirty seven elements were determined by ICP-MS. Most of the results for Chinese soil reference materials were found to be in reasonable agreement with the reference values, except Cs, Ta, Li, Ge, Zn, Nd, Tb and Ta whose values need to be revised. Their precisions were typically lower than 5% RSD. However, the Precisions of Chinese clay reference materials, especially for GBW03102 and GBW03102a, were significantly different with reference values, probably reflecting the existence of a coarser-grained fraction(70 μm) in samples, and the formation of fluorides in Al-rich samples during sample decomposition by using the mixture of HF and HNO3 acids. Moreover, thirty-seven trace elements covering the mass range from Li to U in four Chinese clay reference materials were firstly provided with good precision and accuracy in this study.     

Calcium,Na, K and Mg Concentrations in Seawater by Inductively Coupled Plasma‐Atomic Emission Spectrometry: Applications to IAPSO Seawater Reference Material,Hydrothermal Fluids and Synthetic Seawater Solutions

We report a measurement procedure to determine simultaneously the major cation concentrations (Na, Ca, K and Mg) of seawater‐derived solutions by inductively coupled plasma‐atomic emission spectrometry. The best results were obtained when the IAPSO (‘standard’) seawater reference material was diluted by thirty times with Milli‐Q^® water. We obtained an average reference value r_K (the ratio of the mass fraction of potassium to that of chlorine, i.e., (g kg^?1)/(g kg^?1)) for IAPSO seawater of 0.0205 ± 0.0006 (2.9% RSD), not significantly different from 0.0206 ± 0.0005 (2.4% RSD) for seawater composition reported in the literature. The measured Na, Ca and Mg concentrations correspond to r_Na, r_Ca and r_Mg values of 0.5406 ± 0.0026 (0.5% RSD), 0.02192 ± 0.00048 (2.2% RSD) and 0.06830 ± 0.00047 (0.7% RSD), respectively, in line with previous values measured by wet‐chemistry and atomic absorption spectrophotometry or wet‐chemical titration. Our measurement procedure was used successfully on synthetic seawater solutions and high‐temperature hydrothermal fluids.     

1991—2015年三江源河曲高寒草甸干湿状况及牧草产量变化的气候归因研究

以三江源东部河曲高寒草甸为研究对象,通过分析1991—2015年气温、降水、潜在蒸散、湿润指数和牧草产量变化特征,探讨了地区干湿状况对牧草产量的影响。研究表明：1991—2015年河曲高寒草甸潜在蒸散以3.5 mm·a^-1的速率增加（P<0.01）,在年降水量按2.3 mm·a^-1呈非显著性（P>0.05）增加的趋势下,地区干湿状况基本保持平稳（多年均值为0.52）,隶属于半湿润气候区。25年来牧草干重产量平均为303.7 g·m^-2,并以3.0 g·m^-2·a^-1的速率下降。分析牧草产量与影响干湿状况的气候因素之间的相关性发现,气温对牧草产量影响不明显（P>0.05）,降水量表现为正相关关系（P>0.10）,说明该区域降水是牧草产量提高与否的主导因素;牧草产量与潜在蒸散表现为负相关关系（P>0.10）,与湿润指数表现为正相关关系（P>0.10）;在生长季时期,牧草产量与降水量、潜在蒸散和湿润指数的相关性关系达到了显著水平（P<0.10）,说明牧草产量在生长季对地区环境条件湿润与否较为敏感。     

Ultra-rapid landscape response and sediment yield following glacier retreat, Icy Bay, southern Alaska

The páramo is a neotropical alpine ecosystem that covers more than 75,000 km² of the northern Andes of Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, and Peru. It provides important environmental services: more than 10 million people in the Andean highlands benefit from the water supply and regulation function, which is attributed to the volcanic soils that underlie the ecosystem. The soils are also major carbon sinks of global significance. Severe land use changes and soil degradation threaten both the hydrology and carbon sink function. Nevertheless, soil genesis and properties in the páramo is rather poorly understood, nor are their ecological functions well documented. The impact of the geomorphology of the páramo on soil genesis was studied in the rio Paute basin, south Ecuador. Two toposequences were described and analysed. In each toposequence, four pedons were selected representing summit, backslope, undrained plain situation, and valley bottom positions in the landscape. The soils are classified as Hydric Andosols in the World Reference Base for Soil Resources and Epiaquands or Hydrudands in Soil Taxonomy. They are very acidic and have a high organic matter content, high P deficiency, and Al toxicity. Their water content ranges from 2.64 g g^− 1 at saturation, down to 1.24 g g^− 1 at wilting point, resulting in a large water storage capacity. Two major soil forming processes are identified: (1) volcanic ash deposition and (2) accumulation of organic carbon. Volcanic ash deposits may vary in depth as a result of regional geomorphological factors such as parent material, orientation, slope, and altitude. Organic carbon accumulation is an interaction of both waterlogging, which depends on the position in the landscape, and the formation of organometallic complexes with Al and Fe released during volcanic ash breakdown. Despite the high variability in parent material and topography, the soil is characterised by a notable homogeneity in physico-chemical properties. Statistical analysis reveals that only topographic location has a slight but significant influence on soil pH as well as the organic matter content, saturated conductivity and water retention at high pressure. Finally, the exceptional properties of these soils provide useful insights to improve classification of the Andosols reference group of the FAO World reference Base for Soil Resources.     

非均匀地表蒸散遥感研究综述

本文评述了目前常用的遥感估算地表蒸散方法,包括地表能量平衡模型、Penman-Monteith类模型、温度—植被指数特征空间方法、Priestley-Taylor类模型和其他方法。然而使用这些方法估算地表蒸散时会面临严重的尺度效应,而产生尺度效应的根本原因之一是地表异质性,在分析了非均匀下垫面对水热通量遥感反演造成的影响后,介绍了面积加权、校正因子补偿与温度降尺度3种尺度误差纠正方法;并从地面观测实验的角度简述了非均匀下垫面水热通量真实性检验的研究;最后探讨了将来建立更具时空代表性的非均匀下垫面地表蒸散遥感估算模型可能会面临的一些挑战。     

黄河流域NDVI/土地利用对蒸散发时空变化的影响

基于蒸散发(ET)、归一化植被指数(NDVI)及土地利用数据利用M-K检验、Sen趋势分析等方法,研究2001—2015年黄河流域ET时空分布及不同植被覆盖/土地利用下的ET变化规律.结果 表明:(1)黄河流域年均ET呈东南高西北低的空间分布格局,与植被覆盖和土地利用的关系具有较好的一致性;(2)黄河流域ET、NDVI...     

2002~2020年刚果河流域陆地水储量变化分析

利用德克萨斯大学空间研究中心（CSR）发布的GRACE时变重力场模型,基于最大信噪比准则确定RL06球谐系数模型（spherical harmonics,SH）的最优高斯滤波半径,在此基础上反演2002-04~2020-05刚果河流域陆地水储量变化,结合水文与降雨、蒸散资料分析其驱动因素。研究结果表明,GRACE模型估计的刚果河流域水储量变化和水文模型估计的地表水储量变化的周年振幅一致,表明刚果河流域的陆地水储量周年变化驱动因素为地表水。对于年际变化,2002-04~2020-05陆地水储量变化呈轻微增加趋势,2002-04~2006-12明显减少,RL06 SH模型估计结果为-2.30±0.24 cm/a;2007-01~2010-12呈现增加趋势,为0.38±0.24 cm/a;2011-01~2020-05水储量增速变大,为0.92±0.12 cm/a,该结果与CSR Mascon估计结果一致。