Evaluation of aluminum speciation in surface waters in China and its environmental risk assessment

As the ongoing global research on acid precipitation is developing in depth, more and more attention has been paid to the ecological effects of aluminum (Al) due to its toxicity to plants and animals, which is caused by acid precipitation. As a very serious problem of terrestrial and aquatic environmental acidification occurs in China, especially in southwestern China, a systematic investigation of Al speciation in these regions is very important. In this paper, the Al speciation results of surface waters in China are reported and its ecological impacts is evaluated. More than 100 water samples were collected from about twenty provinces of China. Driscoll's Al speciation scheme combined with the modified MINQEL computer model is used for speciation of Al. This study shows that the ecological impacts of acidification are quite different between China and Western countries, because of different geographical environments and geological settings. In Western countries, acidification is mainly caused by NO₂^-. Due to low concentrations of K⁺, Na⁺, Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, the buffer capacities of soil and water are weak. Therefore, natural waters can be acidified to pH<5 very easily, resulting in a considerable mobilization of Al and worsening of the ecological environment. In China, acid precipitation is mainly in the form of sulfuric acid. In northwestern China, concentrations of K⁺, Na⁺, Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺ are high in soil and surface waters. This leads to much higher capacity and a high resistance ability to acidification. The pH values of waters in this region are high (around 7) and no serious Al toxicity is found at present. However, in northeastern and southeastern China, the soil is rich in Al (unsaturated aluminosilicates in northeastern China, saturated aluminosilicates in north and central China, aluminum-rich soil in southeastern and southwestern China). The concentrations of K⁺, Na⁺, Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺ in soil and waters are lower than those of northwestern China. Therefore the buffer capacity is limited. Numerous surface waters have already been acidified and pH values declined to 5. The impacts of Al toxicity on ecological systems in these regions are very serious, especially in Jiangxi, Hubei Provinces and Chongqing Municipality.     

The Influence of Oxalate on Fe-Catalyzed S(IV) Oxidation by Oxygen in Aqueous Solution

This study demonstrates that oxalate has a strong inhibiting effect onFe-catalyzed S(IV) oxidation by oxygen in aqueous solution. While thepseudo-first order rate constant of S(IV) oxidation was determined to be1.6 × 10³ M^-1 s^-1 in experimentswithout oxalate, the oxidation of S(IV) was totally inhibited at a molarconcentration ratio of iron:oxalate = 1:5 at an oxalate concentration of 4M. Under these conditions, the Fe(II)/Fe(III) ratio remained nearlyconstant during the observed reaction time. The determined rate constants wereindependent of the initial oxidation state of iron. However, with increasingconcentrations of oxalate, a longer induction period is observed forexperiments with iron initially in the Fe(II) oxidation state.     

Speciation and potential remobilization of heavy metals in sediments of the Taihu Lake, China

The species of Cu, Pb, Zn, Cd and Cr in sediments of the Taihu Lake, China, have been analyzed using the sequential chemical extraction method. Variations in the chemical fractions of these metals and their geographic distributions have also been studied. For all five metals, the residual fraction is highest but the exchangeable fraction is lowest among all the fractions. Compared to other metals, Cd has the highest percentage in the exchangeable fraction, and Cr is associated mainly with the residual fraction. Cu in the organic fraction and Pb in the Fe-Mn fraction are the important species, whereas the lowest percentages are found for Cd in the organic fraction, Cu in the Fe-Mn oxide fraction and Pb in the carbonate fraction. With respect to spatial differences, the total contents in the non-residual fractions of the metals in bay sediments are found to be higher than those in other sediments. The fractions of Cd, Cu and Cr showed significant variations in different regions. The fractions of Pb and Zn, however, did not show significant variations in spatial distribution, suggesting different amounts and different paths of anthropogenic input for the metals. Comparisons of the metal speciation indicated that Cd might be the most bioavailable metal, followed by Pb.     

成都经济区农业生态系统土壤镉通量研究

以四川成都经济区农业生态系统中的重金属Cd为对象,对其在土壤中的输入输出通量进行初步探索。综合各方面的因素,确定以大气干湿沉降、灌溉水、化肥为输入途径和农作物为输出途径进行研究。经过计算,经济区大气干湿沉降通量平均值为17.76g/hm2·a,灌溉水和化肥通量明显较低,三者对土壤Cd污染的贡献率分别为86%、10%和4%。对于6个不同的地区,三者比例略有差别,大气干湿沉降所占比例最高达94%,最低也达到了77%。Cd通过农作物收割输出的量相对较小。土壤Cd年净增量主要受大气干湿沉降的制约,因此大气环境质量应是重点监控的对象。以耕作土体为研究介质,经估算,当前的Cd年平均通量可引起土壤Cd的质量分数升高0.006mg/kg。     

石墨炉原子吸收光谱法测定农业地质调查土壤样品中镉的不确定度评定

用实例对石墨炉原子吸收光谱法测定土壤样品中镉元素的不确定度进行评定,采用《测量不确定度评定与表示指南》对测量结果进行评估。分析了不确定度的主要来源,包括测量浓度的不确定度、体积的不确定度、称量不确定度及测量重复性引起的不确定度。评估了镉含量的合成标准不确定度和扩展不确定度。对于镉含量为0.42×10-6的土壤样品,其扩展不确定度为0.04×10-6。     

洞庭湖镉迁移转化的马尔可夫模型评价

讨论了在现时泥沙、水体、鱼类、藻类的含镉状态下洞庭湖的输入输出通量；并以其为例，在简要介绍马尔可夫链数学方法的基础上，建立了湖泊生态系统中镉迁移转化的马尔可夫链数学模型，初步评价了当洞庭湖不断有镉加入、系统到达状态稳定时各种介质中的镉总量及镉的迁移转化趋势。     

黄东海表层沉积物中磷的赋存形态和分布特征及其对生态系统的潜在影响

For better understanding the phosphorus(P) cycle and its impacts on one of the most important fishing grounds and pressures on the marine ecosystem in the Yellow Sea(YS) and East China Sea(ECS), it is essential to distinguish the contents of different P speciation in sediments and have the knowledge of its distribution and bioavailability. In this study, the modified SEDEX procedure was employed to quantify the different forms of P in sediments. The contents of phosphorus fractions in surface sediments were 0.20–0.89 μmol/g for exchangeable-P(Exch-P), 0.37–2.86 μmol/g for Fe-bound P(Fe-P), 0.61–3.07 μmol/g for authigenic Ca-P(ACa-P), 6.39–13.73μmol/g for detrital-P(DAP) and 0.54–10.06 μmol/g for organic P(OP). The distribution of Exch-P, Fe-P and OP seemed to be similar. The concentrations of Exch-P, Fe-P and OP were slightly higher in the Yellow Sea than that in the East China Sea, and low concentrations could be observed in the middle part of the ECS and southwest off Cheju Island. The distribution of ACa-P was different from those of Exch-P, Fe-P and OP. DAP was the major fraction of sedimentary P in the research region. The sum of Exch-P, Fe-P and OP may be thought to be potentially bioavailable P in the research region. The percentage of bioavailable P in TP ranged from 13% to 61%. Bioavailable P burial flux that appeared regional differences was affected by sedimentation rates, porosity and bioavailable P content, and the distribution of bioavailable P burial flux were almost the same as that of TP burial flux.     

Effects of waterborne Cu and Cd on anti-oxidative response,lipid peroxidation and heavy metals accumulation in abalone Haliotis discus hannai ino

The aim of this study was to compare the effects of waterborne copper(Cu) and cadmium(Cd) on survival, anti-oxidative response, lipid peroxidation and metal accumulation in abalone Haliotis discus hannai. Experimental animals(initial weight: 7.49 g ± 0.01 g) were exposed to graded concentrations of waterborne Cu(0.02, 0.04, 0.06, 0.08 mg L-1) or Cd(0.025, 0.05, 0.25, 0.5mg L-1) for 28 days, respectively. Activities of the anti-oxidative enzymes(catalase, CAT; superoxide dismutase, SOD; glutathione peroxidases, GPx; glutathione S-transferase, GST), contents of the reduced glutathione(GSH) and malondiadehyde(MDA) in the hepatopancreas, and metal accumulation in hepatopancreas and muscles were analyzed after 0, 1, 3, 6, 10, 15, 21, 28 days of metal exposure, respectively. Results showed that 0.04 mg L-1, 0.06 mg L-1 and 0.08 mg L-1 Cu caused 100% death of abalone on the 21 st, 10 th and 6th day, respectively. However, no dead abalone was found during the 28-day waterborne Cd exposure at all experimental concentrations. Generally, activities of SOD and GST in hepatopancreas under all Cu concentrations followed a decrease trend as the exposure time prolonged. However, these activities were firstly increased and then decreased to the control level and increased again during Cd exposure. Activities of CAT in all Cu exposure treatments were higher than those in the control. These activities were firstly increased and then decreased to the control level and increased again during Cd exposure. Contents of MDA in hepatopancreas in all Cu treatments significantly increased first and then decreased to the control level. However, the MDA contents in hepatopancreas were not significantly changed during the 28-day Cd exposure. The metals accumulation in both hepatopancreas and muscles of abalone significantly increased with the increase of waterborne metals concentration and exposure time. These results indicated that H. discus hannai has a positive anti-oxidative defense against Cu or Cd. In conclusion, anti-oxidative mechanism in abalone to resist waterborne Cu did not follow the same pattern as that for waterborne Cd.     

Sulphate reduction in the sediment of the Venice canals (Italy)

The sulphur cycle in the sediment of the Venice canal network was investigated by considering the sulphate reduction rate (SRR) and the distribution of sulphur compounds, in both pore water and sediment. Sulphate reduction (SR) is the main process in the metabolism of the organic matter supplied to the network by untreated urban effluents. Although it might account for the decomposition of only a limited percentage of the total organic-C inputs, the estimated rates are among the highest observed in coastal sediments. Measured rates range from 0.26 to 0.99 micromolcm(-3)d(-1), while mean annual values, estimated by a diagenetic model, vary from 0.16 to 0.43 micromolcm(-3)d(-1). The speciation of S in the sediment reveals that pyrite-S is the most abundant component of the total reduced S pool, whereas acid volatile sulphides and elemental sulphur together account for less than 45%. A preliminary budget indicates that the rate of burial of solid-phase S is small compared to the S produced by SR (from 10 to 25%). A large amount of reduced S is then lost from the canal deposits to be re-oxidised at the sediment-water interface or in the overlying water column.     

Neoproterozoic chemostratigraphy

Chemostratigraphy has diverse applications to investigating the rock record, such as reconstructing paleoenvironments, determining the tectonic setting of sedimentary basins, indirect dating, and establishing regional or global correlations. Chemostratigraphy is thus an integral component of many investigations of the ancient sedimentary record. In this contribution, we review the principle inorganic geochemical methods that have been applied to the Neoproterozoic sedimentary record. Analysis of the traditional stable and radiogenic isotope systems, such as δ¹³C, δ¹⁸O, δ³⁴S, and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr, is routine, particularly in successions rich in carbonate. These mainstay applications have yielded invaluable data and information bearing on the chronology and evolution of this eventful era in Earth history. Alongside the growing database of traditional data, a series of novel geochemical techniques have given rise to important new models and constraints on Neoproterozoic biogeochemical change. In particular, a range of proxies for water column redox, mainly obtained from black shales, have shed light on the pace and tempo of Neoproterozoic oxygenation and its link to the appearance of early animal evolution. Increased integration of diverse geochemical, sedimentological, and paleontological datasets, and the gradual radiometric calibration of the stratigraphic record promise to bring the details of the evolution of the Neoproterozoic Earth system into ever greater focus.