Heavy metals in a contaminated Australian estuary—Dispersion and accumulation trend

Very high concentrations of Zn, Pb, Cu and Cd occur in the muddy bottom sediments of Lake Macquarie, a saline coastal lagoon in southeastern Australia. The trace metals emanate from industrial sources, especially a lead-zinc smelter, at the northern end of the lake. Individual metal concentrations decrease progressively away from the source area but at differing rates; Zn is most mobile and Cd appears to be deposited first. They approach natural background levels in the southern part of the lake. Mn shows a reverse trend but Ni, Co, Ag and Fe rarely rise above background levels.Shallow cores in the lake bed penetrated a metal enriched surface zone 15–35 cm thick underlain by uncontaminated sediments with natural (background) metal concentrations. Sedimentation rates determined from radiocarbon ages on shells in the cores mainly range between 0·15 and 0·5 mm yr^?1. Over the 85 years since industrialization commenced, less than 5 cm of mud has accumulated on the lake bed. Bioturbation is invoked to account for the depth to which the sediment has been enriched in heavy metals.     

The impact of freshwater and wastewater irrigation on the chemistry of shallow groundwater: a case study from the Israeli Coastal Aquifer

Differences in the impact of irrigation with freshwater versus wastewater on the underlying shallow groundwater quality were investigated in the Coastal Aquifer of Israel. Seven research boreholes were drilled to the top-most 3–5 m of the saturated zone (the water table region-WTR) in the agricultural fields. The unsaturated zone and the WTR below the irrigated fields consist mainly of clayey sands, while the main aquifer comprises mainly of calcareous sandstones and sands. We show that the salinity and composition of the groundwater at the WTR are highly variable over a distance of less than 1 km and are controlled by the irrigating water and the processes in the overlying unsaturated zone. Tritium data in this groundwater (4.6 tritium units (TU)) support that these water are modern recharge. The water at the WTR is more saline and has a different chemical composition relative to the overlying irrigation water. High SAR values (sodium adsorption ratio) in wastewater irrigation lead to absorption of Na⁺ onto the clay and release of Ca²⁺ into the recharging water, resulting in low Na/Cl (0.4 compared to 1.2 in the wastewater) and high Ca/Cl ratios. In contrast, in the freshwater-irrigated field the irrigation water pumped from the aquifer (Na/Cl=0.9; SAR=0.6) is modified into Na-rich groundwater (Na/Cl=2.0) due to reverse base-exchange reactions. The high NO₃ concentration (>100 mg/l) in the WTR below both fields is derived from the agricultural activities. In the freshwater field, the source of NO₃ is fertilizer leachates, whereas in the wastewater field, where less fertilizers are applied, nitrate is probably derived from nitrification of the NH₄ in the wastewater. Some of the original inorganic nitrogen in the wastewater is consumed by the agricultural plants, resulting in a lower inorganic-N/Cl ratio in the WTR as compared to that in the wastewater. This study demonstrates the important role of the composition of irrigation water, combined with lithology and land use, in determining the quality of the water that recharge the aquifer below agricultural fields.     

构建地下水污染防护与修复管理中的综合决策系统(英文)

试图阐述如何对一个国家或地区在可持续发展国策下优化资金及人力配置,采取必要的防护和修复地下水污染的可行措施,从而最大限度减少由地下水污染对人类及生态可能产生的危害。提出了一个管理地下水污染防护与修复的综合决策系统框架。该系统框架的构筑是基于资金及人力的有限性、系统优化原理、地下水污染对人类及生态可能产生的危害,地下水防护与修复的难度或费用高低、地下水保护的效益与价值,以及同时考虑满足可持续发展要求。其中,由不同地下水污染防护与修复措施产生的地下水污染危害减少量构成了优化分析的目标函数。有限资金的最佳配置是通过使目标函数的最大化,并满足所有的管理、资源等限制条件加以确定的。还就执行该决策系统框架中所需完成的主要任务及步骤给予简述,并就几个相关的前沿性问题加以探讨。     

Mineral deposits and Cu–Zn–As dispersion–contamination in stream sediments from the semiarid Coquimbo Region,Chile

This paper presents Cu–Zn–As geochemical data from stream sediment surveys carried out in the three main watersheds of the Coquimbo Region of Chile. This mountainous semiarid realm occupies an area of 40,656 km² between 29° and 32°S. Given that the area has a long historical record of mining activities, important environmental disturbances were expected. However, despite the detection of three major geochemical anomalies for Cu, Zn, or As, only one can be unmistakably linked to the development of mining–metal recovery procedures (Andacollo–Panulcillo). An investigation of the other two anomalies (Elqui and Hurtado) reveals three major causes that fully or partially account for them: (1) the type of ore deposit and associated hydrothermal alteration; (2) the regional structural setting (intensity of fracturing); and (3) climate–landscape. Cu–Au–As epithermal deposits/prospects along the so-called El Indio belt are here regarded as the sources of both the Elqui and Hurtado anomalies. The strong advanced argillic alteration present in some of the epithermal deposits/prospects of the El Indio belt may have induced the loss of the buffering capacity of rocks, and therefore favoured metal dispersion during later oxidation–leaching of sulphides. This applies to the Elqui and Hurtado anomalies. Conversely, given that the potassic, propylitic and phyllic alterations do not affect the buffering capacity of rocks, only minor metal dispersion is observed in relation to the Los Pelambres porphyry copper deposit. Besides, the epithermal belt is located within a highly fractured Andean domain (3,000–4,000 m of altitude), which may have conditioned the fast unroofing of ore deposits, contributed to enhanced circulation of meteoric waters, and eventually, to strong oxidation, and leaching of metals. Metal dispersion is aggravated during rainy years in response to strong El Niño episodes.     

Rise and fall of road salt contamination of water-supply springs

A storage pile of de-icing agent consisting principally of sodium chloride was placed in the recharge area of two springs, and remained there for 2 years. Water flow is through fractures in rocks with low matrix permeability, along a hydraulic gradient developed along fracture zones. Salt contamination in the springs was noticed about 1 year after the salt was placed. When the salt was removed 1 year later, chloride concentrations in the springs exceeded 500 mg/L. Monitoring for the following 5 years showed salt contamination rising for the first year, but receding to normal background after 5 years. Chloride to sodium ratios of the spring waters indicated that some sodium was initially sequestered, probably by ion exchange on clay minerals, in the early part of the monitoring period, and released during the latter part; thereby extending the period of contamination.Richard S. diPretoro: deceased     

Chasing rainbows： The elusive normal and lognormal distribution in geochemistry

For decades geochemists have debated the nature of the distribution of geochemical dements. The general observation is that major elements tend to approach normal distribution, whereas trace elements tend towards lognormal distribution. In order to establish geochemical baselines and anomalies, the distr/bution of geochemical （typically univariate） data is often compared to normal or lognormal distribution. Geochemical data--particularly when the data set is large-usually fails to fit either distribution. Departures from these distributions are commonly attributed to outliers or mixtures of different geochemical populations. This approach fails for two reasons. First, formal tests for normality are a function of power and effect size. For large data sets, even small departures from normality can result in statistical significance, but not necessarily in practical significance. Second, and more importantly, distr/bution tests on ＂raw＂ or log-transformed data fail to recognize the nature of compositional data. Such data are by definition constrained to positive values whose components （variables） are closed to sum to 100%. Components are not independent, i.e., any variation in any component must be compensated by changes in other components. Log-ratio transformations, developed by John Aitchison to deal with these constraints, have existed for over 25 years, but geochemists continue largely to ignore or dismiss the problem of closure. Log-ratio techniques rid compositional data of their component dependence and the constraint of closure by allowing data to assume any value in Euclidean space. We examined the issue of geochemical data distribution with a large set of stream sediments. The logratio transformation not only reconciles the apparent differences between major and trace element distributions, but also more readily enables the recognition of potentially contaminating populations. Moreover, observations below detection limits, which usually cause pronounced skew in ＂raw＂ or log-transformed data, are readily accommodated with a substitution method, typically decreasing skewness.     

Crustal contamination and crystal entrapment during polybaric magma evolution at Mt. Somma–Vesuvius volcano, Italy: Geochemical and Sr isotope evidence

New major and trace element analyses and Sr-isotope determinations of rocks from Mt. Somma–Vesuvius volcano produced from 25 ky BP to 1944 AD are part of an extensive database documenting the geochemical evolution of this classic region. Volcanic rocks include silica undersaturated, potassic and ultrapotassic lavas and tephras characterized by variable mineralogy and different crystal abundance, as well as by wide ranges of trace element contents and a wide span of initial Sr-isotopic compositions. Both the degree of undersaturation in silica and the crystal content increase through time, being higher in rocks produced after the eruption at 472 AD (Pollena eruption). Compositional variations have been generally thought to reflect contributions from diverse types of mantle and crust. Magma mixing is commonly invoked as a fundamental process affecting the magmas, in addition to crystal fractionation. Our assessment of geochemical and Sr-isotopic data indicates that compositional variability also reflects the influence of crustal contamination during magma evolution during upward migration to shallow crustal levels and/or by entrapment of crystal mush generated during previous magma storage in the crust. Using a variant of the assimilation fractional crystallization model (Energy Conservation–Assimilation Fractional Crystallization; [Spera and Bohrson, 2001. Energy-constrained open-system magmatic processes I: General model and energy-constrained assimilation and fractional crystallization (EC–AFC) formulation. J. Petrol. 999–1018]; [Bohrson, W.A. and Spera, F.J., 2001. Energy-constrained open-system magmatic process II: application of energy-constrained assimilation–fractional crystallization (EC–AFC) model to magmatic systems. J. Petrol. 1019–1041]) we estimated the contributions from the crust and suggest that contamination by carbonate rocks that underlie the volcano (2 km down to 9–10 km) is a fundamental process controlling magma compositions at Mt. Somma–Vesuvius in the last 8 ky BP. Contamination in the mid- to upper crust occurred repeatedly, after the magma chamber waxed with influx of new mantle- and crustal-derived magmas and fluids, and waned as a result of magma withdrawal and production of large and energetic plinian and subplinian eruptions.     

Moessbauer and XRD characterization of contaminated sediments by coal mining drainage in Neath Canal, South Wales, UK

Sediment cores were collected from the upstream of the Neath Canal in South Wales and characterized for their mineral compositions and iron speciation in order to understand the influence of sedimentary properties on the contaminants of heavy metals. The sediments in the canal have been polluted by ocherous precipitate with heavy metals such as arsenic since a major mine water discharge in spring 1993. The sediment core was obtained just from the discharge point in the canal and distinguished into three layers in the field regarding to their physical properties including visible color, sediment particle composition and dryness. X-ray diffraction （XRD） and M6ssbauer spectroscopy revealed vertical variations of minerals and iron species in depth of the sediment profile. The upper layer, reddish-brown, is wet muddy precipitant and is very fine in particle size, consisting mainly of iron oxide and hydroxide. Arsenic is rich in this layer; probably the sorption on iron oxide surface is the main mechanism. The middle layer, 22.0-27.0 cm, is soft deposit in a yellow color and contains sheet silicate, calcite and goethite. The lower part below 27.0 cm is gray to dark gray in color and contains quartz, pyrite, coal particles that are much more similar to normal aquatic sediment. The upper two layers in brown and yellow colors as newly precipitated mud from AMD contain high concentrations of As, Ni under oxic conditions. The lower part as the old canal sediments under reducing conditions contains high Cu and Zn. Chromium is enriched in the limited part of the low layer, just beneath the boundary between the middle and low parts of the sedimentary column, where the redox conditions shifted from oxic to anoxic. It is clear that the distribution of these heavy metals is closely associated with the redox condition reflected in the iron speciation. Thus different treatments are necessary for each layer of the sediment since different mineral and geochemical properties of the sediment will give different impacts on the heavy metals.