A stochastic model of surface contaminant releases to support assessment of site contamination at a former industrial site

An industrial site is usually contaminated by accidental (and occasionally intentional) releases of pollutants to the environment from various operations carried out on that site. Consequently, the pattern of contamination created during the life of the site depends in part, at least, on the pattern of operations. Thus, the assessment of the pattern of contamination over the site should be improved: if it is possible to identify the pattern of operations on the site, the duration of the different activities and the perceived likelihood of releases from the different operations. A stochastic model has been developed that can be used to simulate alternative realizations of contaminant releases (duration, extent and timing). The model employs release zones associated with particular activities or groups of activities on the site and the areas of each of the zones may be independent or overlapping. The period of activity in each zone is obtained from the site records, while the likelihood and extent of contamination in each zone is inferred from an analysis of the contamination data obtained by point sampling. The form of the model, the method of inference of the model parameter values from the site data and the application of the model to the study site are presented. The release model has been developed as part of a suite of stochastic models for site ground contamination analysis. The stochastic soil and transport models and the application of the integrated modelling system are described in separate papers.     

Influence of external loading and halocline on phosphorus release from sediment in an artificial tidal lake

Many of the dams built in estuaries in the last century have difficulty with water quality management.Numerous factors have affected the estuary lake water,most importantly external loadings,tidal currents,and increases in the phosphorus(P) release from sediment,so that most water quality characteristics in the estuary are highly interactive and dynamic.In the current study,water quality measurements were made in the laboratory and field,and a series of phosphorus release experiments was done to understand the behavior of P in an estuary lake.The concentrations of chemical oxygen demand(COD),chlorophyll-a(Chl-a),and total P(TP) showed an increasing trend when the pollutant loading of the influent stream water was high.The measurements showed increasing trends,which indicates the constituents are produced in the internal environment of the lake.When a large amount of freshwater flowed in from the upper watershed,density stratification was observed,which forms strongly because of the salinity of seawater.During the period of stratification,a hypoxic layer formed,which can accelerate P release.Comparing the open and dosed conditions of the release experiments,the P release rate was much higher under the closed condition than under the open condition.The maximum P release rates from the sediment collected from the five main sites of the lake were more than 2.5 times the P loading from the inflowing streams in April.Spatially,the release rate was higher mid-reservoir than down-reservoir where a halocline was evident The pollutant load discharged from the tributary watershed was deposited on the bottom mid-reservoir,whereas it was washed out downreservoir because of the density stratification and strong tide in that area.To sustainably manage water quality and decrease lake eutrophication in brackish environments formed by freshwater from streams mixing with seawater entering through sluice dikes,different measures than those applied in strictly freshwater environments are required.Considering the spatial characteristics of an estuary lake,these measures include 1) blocking settleable particles discharged from the rivers upstream,2) controlling hypoxia to avoid P release from the sediment and inhibiting algae growth mid-reservoir,and 3)decreasing stratification caused by the halocline down-reservoir.     

Renewable, controlled and environmentally safe phosphorus release in soils from mixtures of NH4 +-phillipsite tuff and phosphate rocks

 The renewable and controlled-release fertilization system investigated here uses NH₄ ⁺-exchanged phillipsite tuff, from Jordan, to help in the dissolution of phosphate rock. Accordingly, controlled and renewable soluble nitrogen, phosphate and Ca are released as nutrients for plants. NH₄ ⁺ phillipsite can sequester Ca ions released by the dissolution of phosphate rock, therefore, leading to further phosphate rock dissolution. In this study the results show that the amount of phosphate released is more than that released by phosphate rock alone. This method offers an alternative to the use of highly soluble fertilizers and may avoid environmental problems associated with their extensive use in agriculture. Received: 22 May 1997 · Accepted: 12 August 1997     

Modern diatom, cladocera, chironomid, and chrysophyte cyst assemblages as quantitative indicators for the reconstruction of past environmental conditions in the Alps. II. Nutrients

Surface sediments from 68 small lakes in the Alps and 9 well-dated sediment core samples that cover a gradient of total phosphorus (TP) concentrations of 6 to 520 g TP l^-1 were studied for diatom, chrysophyte cyst, cladocera, and chironomid assemblages. Inference models for mean circulation log₁₀ TP were developed for diatoms, chironomids, and benthic cladocera using weighted-averaging partial least squares. After screening for outliers, the final transfer functions have coefficients of determination (r², as assessed by cross-validation, of 0.79 (diatoms), 0.68 (chironomids), and 0.49 (benthic cladocera). Planktonic cladocera and chrysophytes show very weak relationships to TP and no TP inference models were developed for these biota. Diatoms showed the best relationship with TP, whereas the other biota all have large secondary gradients, suggesting that variables other than TP have a strong influence on their composition and abundance. Comparison with other diatom – TP inference models shows that our model has high predictive power and a low root mean squared error of prediction, as assessed by cross-validation.     

A model that helps explain Sr-isotope disequilibrium between feldspar phenocrysts and melt in large-volume silicic magma systems

Feldspar phenocrysts of silicic volcanic rocks are commonly in Sr-isotopic disequilibrium with groundmass. In some cases the feldspar is more radiogenic, and in others it is less radiogenic. Several explanations have been published previously, but none of these is able to accommodate both senses of disequilibrium. We present a model by which either more- or less-radiogenic feldspar (or even both within a single eruptive unit) can originate. The model requires a magma body open to interaction with biotite- and feldspar-bearing wall rock. Magma is incrementally contaminated as wall rock melts incongruently. Biotite preferentially melts first, followed by feldspar. Such melting behavior, which is supported by both field and experimental studies, first contaminates magma with a relatively radiogenic addition, followed by a less-radiogenic addition. Feldspar phenocrysts lag behind melt (groundmass of volcanic rock) in incorporating the influx of contaminant, thus resulting in Sr-isotopic disequilibrium between the crystals and melt. The sense of disequilibrium recorded in a volcanic rock depends on when eruption quenches the contamination process. This model is testable by isotopic fingerprinting of individual feldspar crystals. For a given set of geologic boundary conditions, specific core-to-rim Sr-isotopic profiles are expectable. Moreover, phenocrysts that nucleate at different times during the contamination process should record different and predictable parts of the history. Initial results of Sr-isotopic fingerprinting of sanidine phenocrysts from the Taylor Creek Rhyolite are consistent with the model. More tests of the model are desirable.     

Chromite in the Paricutin lava flows (1943–1952)

Small euhedral chromite crystals are found in olivine macrophenocrysts (Fo_80–84) from the basaltic andesites (150 ppm Cr) erupted in 1943–1947, and in orthopyroxene macrophenocrysts of the andesites (75 ppm Cr) erupted in 1947–1952. The majority of the chromite octahedra are 5–20 μm in diameter, and some are found in clusters and linear chains of three or more oriented chromite crystals. The composition of the majority of the chromite grains within olivine and orthopyroxene macrophenocrysts is Fe²⁺/(Fe²⁺+Mg)=0.5–0.6, Cr/(Cr+Al)=0.5–0.6 and Fe³⁺/(Fe³⁺+Al+Cr)=0.2–0.3. The chromite crystals in contact with the groundmass are larger, subhedral, and grade in composition from chromite cores to magnetite rims. Comparison of the composition of chromite with those of other volcanic rocks shows that the most primitive Paricutin chromite is richer in total iron and higher in Fe³⁺/(Fe³⁺+Al+Cr) than primary chromite in most lavas. The linear chains of oriented chromite octahedra are found in olivine and orthopyroxene macrophenocrysts, and in the groundmass. These chromite chains are thought to result from diffusion-controlled crystallization because of the very high partition coefficient (1000) of Cr between chromite and melt. We conclude that chromite was a primary phase in the lavas at the time of extrusion and that magnetite only crystallized after extrusion during cooling of the lava flows. The presence of chromite microphenocrysts in andesitic lavas containing as little as 70 ppm Cr can be explained by dissolved H₂O in the melt depressing the liquidus temperature for orthopyroxene such that chromite becomes a liquidus phase. The influence of dissolved H₂O can also explain the lack of plagioclase macrophenocrysts in most of the lavas and the relatively high partition coefficient (20) of Ni between olivine and melt and the high partition coefficient (40) of Cr between orthopyroxene and melt. The liquidus temperature of the basaltic andesite is estimated to have been less than 1140°C, assuming H₂O>1 wt.%, and the log f_O2 to have been above that of the QFM buffer. The chromite and orthopyroxene liquidus temperature of the andesites, assuming H₂O>1 wt.%, is estimated to have been 1100°C or less. The derivation of the later andesites from the earlier basaltic andesites has been explained by a combination of fractional crystallization of olivine, orthopyroxene and plagioclase, and assimilation of xenoliths. The significantly lower Cr, Ni and Mg of the andesites may have been in part due to the separation of olivine macrophenocrysts plus enclosed chromite crystals from the earlier basaltic andesites.     

利用牡蛎壳粉制备缓释氮肥的初步研究

目前我国化肥当季利用率中，氮约为30％～35％．磷为10％～25％，钾为35％～50％远低于世界发达国家水平，造成肥料利用率低的主要原因是淋溶损失，尤以氮肥、钾肥为最。人们正在努力寻求提高肥料利用率的方法，其中之一是对肥料本身进行改性，开发适合于作物生长需求的新型肥料。研制缓／控释肥料是世界各国普遍采用的有效措施之一。缓释肥料的优点是利用率高，养分损失少，环境友好。但是，目前所用的作为缓释材料的高分子聚合物一般是难降解或不能降解，长期施用也会引起土壤污染。牡蛎壳为一种新型的天然材料，     

Benthic nutrient recycling in shallow coastal waters of the Bohai Sea

Sediment-water fluxes of N and P species in the Bohai Sea were investigated in September-October 1998 and April-May 1999. The benthic fluxes of nutrient species were determined by incubating sediment core samples with bottom seawater bubbled with air or nitrogen. NO^-2,NH4, dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) and phosphorus (DOP), total dissolved nitrogen (TDN) and phosphorus (TDP), and PO4^3- showed a net exchange flux from seawater to sediment, while NO^-3, dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) and SiO3^2- were released from sediment to seawater in the Bohai Sea. Sediment-water nutrient exchange increases DIN and reduces the phosphorus load in the Bohai Sea. The release of silicate from sediment to overlying seawater reduces potential silicate limitation of primary production resulted from decrease of riverine discharge.The exchange flux of nutrients showed no obvious seasonal variation. The present study showed that the concentrations and composition of nutrients in the water column were affected by suspended sediment, and that not all the exchangeable phosphate in sediment could be released via sediment resuspension.