Environmental aspects of selected trace metals in soils and waters surrounding Singaran Nala, Raniganj Coalfield

The Raniganj Coalfield is the oldest coalfield in India that has been continuously and extensively mined since the late eighteenth century. The present study reports a geochemical investigation and environmental quality assessment using soil and water in the area surrounding a stream, locally known as Singaran Nala （Nala means storm water drains in Bengali）, in the Raniganj Coalfield. Soil （top soil, mud, silty clay and laterite） and rock samples （sandstone and shale） were collected from the study area and were analyzed for trace metals （Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni and Zn）. Surface waters from the stream and the Damodar River as well as ground waters from hand pumps and underground mine pits were collected. Water samples were analyzed for major ions （Na^＋, Ca^2＋, Mg^2＋, Cl^-, HNO3^- and SO4^2-） and trace metals （Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, and Zn）. Trace metal concentrations in soil samples are found higher than the average world soil composition. Nevertheless, trace metal （Cr, Cu, Ni and Zn） concentrations in soils exceed or reach the maximum allowable concentrations （MAC） proposed by the European Commission for agricultural soils. In particular, Ni concentrations exceed the typical value for cultivated soils. Chromium, Cu and Ni concentrations in laterite and Cr concentration in topsoil exceed the ecotoxicological limit.     

Geochemistry of soils derived from black shale, central Hunan, China

The black shale formed under anoxic conditions usually contains high concentrations of many metals. Weathering of such black shale might cause the emission of many metals. Moreover, soils derived from black shale （SBS） are believed to be affected by black shale weathering. In recent years, many studies such as Lee et al. （2002）, Woo et al. （2002）, Fang et al. （2002）, Pasava et al. （2003）, and Peng et al. （2004） have approached the heavy metal contaminations of SBS, but systematical geochemical study is rare. Presently, the SBS and its corresponding black shales （CBS） were both sampled from central Hunan （China）, and analyzed for a large number of elements, using an Elan6000 ICP-MS/AES machine at Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, CAS. In this paper, some preliminary results are reported. The analytical results show that the SBS in central Hunan contains very high concentrations of heavy metals such as Co, Cu, Hg, Mo, Pb, Zn, U, Th, Sb, T1, Cd, Cr, Sc, V, Sn, As, Se, and Ni.     

Selenium contamination in the Colorado River Basin, western USA： Remediation by leaching and nanof＇dtration membranes

Selenium （Se） is an essential micronutrient to biota, but can become a potent toxicant at elevated concentrations. The natural sources and chemical properties of Se species make the boundary between deficiency and toxicity narrow for some biota, with both phenomena common around the globe. Large areas of farmland in the Colorado River Basin （CRB） generate salinized drainage water with Se concentrations much higher than 5 μg/L, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency chronic water-quality criterion for the protection of aquatic life. We have carried out detailed field and laboratory studies to investigate Se geochemistry and remediation in two of these areas： the Middle Green River Basin, Utah and the Salton Sea Basin, California, located respectively in the Upper and Lower CRB. Results from these and other studies show that approximately 90% of the dissolved Se in the Colorado River and its tributaries originally is derived from the Upper Cretaceous Mancos Shale and equivalent pyritic marine units that outcrop in the Upper CRB. Selenium is mobilized commonly by biogeochemical oxidation of this pyritic shale and is concentrated mainly as selenate （SeO4^2-） in soils and agricultural drainage water of dry climates by evaporation. Minor （0%-5%） amounts of Se are present as the selenite species （HSeO3^-） and （SEO3^2-）, but these species and the more reduced species, elemental Se （SeO） and selenide （Se^2-）, have much lower solubility and/or have high sorptive affinity towards organic matter, clay minerals and iron oxyhydroxides. The concentration of dissolved Se （-2.5 μg/L） and salinity in the Lower Colorado River water are among the highest of the world major rivers. Because of low precipitation （7 cm/a） and extreme evapotranspiration （-1.8 m/a） rates in the Salton Sea Basin, California, Se values in irrigation water imported from the Colorado River increase to 〉300 μg/L in drainage wastewater. Removal of Se from contaminated wastewater by nanofiltration membranes was demonstrated in laboratory and pilot-scale field experiments.     

Analysis of the effect of geology, soil properties, and land use on groundwater quality using multivariate statistical and GIS methods

The regional survey of groundwater used as a small water supply system was performed to know the effect of geology, soil properties and land use on groundwater quality at Nonsan City, Korea. A total of 126 groundwater samples were collected and analyzed at the study area. The multivariate statistical methods, principal components analysis and discriminant analysis, and GIS technique were used for the quantitative interpretation of groundwater quality. The study area is mainly composed of Precambrian gneiss, Jurassic granite, and Cretaceous volcanics, and metasedimentary rocks of the Ogcheon zone. The land use was grouped as paddy, upland, grassland, resident, point source, industrial area, and water system. The soil properties were classified as 4 major groups, Entisols, Alfisols, Inceptisols, and Ultisols, by the degree of development, and reclassified as 11 subgroups. The modified and simplified geologic map, soil map, and land use map were made by using ARCGIS soft-ware. The area of geology, soil property, and land use affecting the groundwater quality for each well were also calculated by ARCGIS soft-ware to acquire the quantitative parameters for multivariate statistical analysis. The monitoring results of groundwater in the study area showed that 13%-21% of the groundwater samples exceeded the portable water guideline and the main causes were turbidity, bacteria, arsenic and nitrate-N. The spatial distribution of each component showed the close relationship between groundwater quality and geology reflecting the topography, land use.     

Effects of dynamic shear strength and time-histories stress analysis on newmark sliding block analyses

A simplified procedure for evaluating aseismic stability of slope subjected to earthquake shaking, in which the effect of dynamic shear strength and time-history stress on the yielding angular acceleration of sliding block is taken into account, is presented. The fundamental feature of this procedure is the dynamic shear strength. The numerical computations are performed by using the proposed method. It is shown that the computed sliding displacement for a given core dam, with either method of dynamic shear strength properly considered, is more rational compared with the conventional computational results based on static shear strength.     

广州科学城保利林语山庄高边坡支护工程的实践

主要介绍了广州科学城保利林语山庄高边坡支护设计方案与施工方法。支护方案综合采用了锚索、锚杆、抗滑桩、钢管桩、格构梁及挡土墙等多种支护方法，有效地提高了边坡的稳定性。应用有限元方法来验证设计方案的合理性，模拟结果与工程实践基本吻合。     

东北漫岗黑土区春季冻融期浅沟侵蚀

浅沟侵蚀是东北漫岗黑土区农耕地上常见的水蚀类型,往往对坡耕地造成严重的破坏。2005年春季,通过对两个小流域浅沟侵蚀的调查测量,发现该区浅沟侵蚀相当严重,两流域分别形成浅沟14条、16条,浅沟总长度分别达3 269 m、2 146 m,浅沟密度分别为908 m/km2、766 m/km2,侵蚀深度分别为0.17 mm、0.16 mm,侵蚀模数分别达181.8 t/km2、173.6 t/km2。2005年春季两流域浅沟侵蚀期的径流深分别是6.8 mm、7.7 mm。分析表明,研究区在春季表层土壤解冻、地表裸露和存在季节性冻土层的条件下,春季融雪及强降水易造成强烈的浅沟侵蚀。在分布上,浅沟一般位于坡面的中下部,而且多发育在瓦背状坡面的集流水路上。另外,耕作措施对浅沟的形成和发展也有重要影响。