Critical appraisal on the identification of Reference Conditions for the evaluation of ecological quality status along the Emilia-Romagna coast (Italy) using M-AMBI

According to the European Water Framework Directive, the ecological status (ES) of a water body is determined by comparing observation data with undisturbed Reference Conditions (RCs). Defining RCs is crucial when evaluating the ES of a water body as it strongly affects the final outcome of any index application. Identifying RCs by observing real sites is not feasible in many marine environments, such as the Emilia-Romagna coast (Italy, N-Adriatic Sea). We used a statistical approach on a large dataset to derive RCs for the application of the benthic index M-AMBI in this area. We then applied M-AMBI to samples collected along a gradient of presumed environmental disturbance. The results put 14.8% of the Emilia-Romagna samples in “High” ES, 60.2% in “Good”, 23.0% in “Moderate” and 2.0% in “Poor”, showing a spatial gradient of improving quality. These results are in agreement with the extensive ecological knowledge available for this area.     

沈阳市新城子铬渣堆存区土壤铬污染分布及形态研究

采用 Tessier A连续提取法研究分析了沈阳市新城子铬渣堆存区土壤中重金属铬的污染分布和迁移转化规律。结果表明：土壤中重金属铬的5 种形态分布, 主要以残渣态和碳酸盐结合态为主,分别占总量的49.74%和21.40%,而有机结合态含量最低,占总铬含量的6.25%。不同的功能区域铬的形态分布有所不同。总体的分布特征是残渣态大于碳酸盐结合态大于交换态大于铁锰氧化态大于有机态。     

Microbial populations in contaminant plumes

Received, May 1999/Revised, October 1999/Accepted, October 1999     

Overview of integrative tools and methods in assessing ecological integrity in estuarine and coastal systems worldwide

In recent years, several sets of legislation worldwide (Oceans Act in USA, Australia or Canada; Water Framework Directive or Marine Strategy in Europe, National Water Act in South Africa, etc.) have been developed in order to address ecological quality or integrity, within estuarine and coastal systems. Most such legislation seeks to define quality in an integrative way, by using several biological elements, together with physico-chemical and pollution elements. Such an approach allows assessment of ecological status at the ecosystem level ('ecosystem approach' or 'holistic approach' methodologies), rather than at species level (e.g. mussel biomonitoring or Mussel Watch) or just at chemical level (i.e. quality objectives) alone. Increasing attention has been paid to the development of tools for different physico-chemical or biological (phytoplankton, zooplankton, benthos, algae, phanerogams, fishes) elements of the ecosystems. However, few methodologies integrate all the elements into a single evaluation of a water body. The need for such integrative tools to assess ecosystem quality is very important, both from a scientific and stakeholder point of view. Politicians and managers need information from simple and pragmatic, but scientifically sound methodologies, in order to show to society the evolution of a zone (estuary, coastal area, etc.), taking into account human pressures or recovery processes. These approaches include: (i) multidisciplinarity, inherent in the teams involved in their implementation; (ii) integration of biotic and abiotic factors; (iii) accurate and validated methods in determining ecological integrity; and (iv) adequate indicators to follow the evolution of the monitored ecosystems. While some countries increasingly use the establishment of marine parks to conserve marine biodiversity and ecological integrity, there is awareness (e.g. in Australia) that conservation and management of marine ecosystems cannot be restricted to Marine Protected Areas but must include areas outside such reserves. This contribution reviews the current situation of integrative ecological assessment worldwide, by presenting several examples from each of the continents: Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and North America.     

东天山二叠纪镁铁-超镁铁质成矿岩体造岩矿物特征及其成因意义

东天山造山带与镁铁-超镁铁质岩体有关的铜镍硫化物矿床数量多,分布集中,是我国重要的铜镍成矿带之一。成矿岩体多以小岩体群形式产出,由西向东分布有白鑫滩、黄山和图拉尔根3个岩体群,大型矿床主要赋存在黄山岩体群内。本文对3个岩体群内成矿岩体的主要造岩矿物进行了系统的对比研究。成矿岩体的主要造岩矿物为贵橄榄石、古铜辉石、单斜辉石、斜长石和角闪石以及少量的铬尖晶石和金云母。橄榄石Al温度计计算结果表明,黄山岩体群内成矿岩体的母岩浆结晶温度介于1 143~1 257℃之间,略低于白鑫滩和图拉尔根岩体群(1 283~1 301℃)。单斜辉石压力计算表明成矿岩体的结晶压力相似,介于0.31~0.33 GPa之间。成矿岩体中均富含含水矿物,且单斜辉石结晶早于斜长石,指示成矿岩体的原始岩浆形成于富水环境。成矿岩体的单斜辉石具有较高的Al/Ti值,铬尖晶石和橄榄石具有与岛弧火山岩相似的矿物学特征,结合区域构造演化,认为东天山镁铁-超镁铁质成矿岩体的原始岩浆是被消减板片交代过的地幔部分熔融的产物。矿物学特征对比显示了黄山岩体群内成矿岩体更富斜方辉石和中性斜长石,且具有较低的铬尖晶石Cr~#值和橄榄石Ca含量。结合前人研究成果和相关地球化学数据,认为相对高的混染程度导致了黄山岩体群的母岩浆富SiO_2和Al_2O_3,同时降低了岩浆的结晶温度。     

Electrokinetic remediation of metal contaminated glacial tills

This paper presents the results of an experimental investigation which studied the feasibility of using the electrokinetic process to remediate contaminated clays of glacial origin, otherwise known as glacial tills. An overview of the electrokinetic phenomena, as well as previously performed laboratory and field investigations, is first presented. The methodology of the electrokinetic experiments which were conducted to investigate the removal of metals from a glacial till is then described. A total of 16 experiments were conducted using glacial till samples obtained from a project site near Chicago. Sodium and calcium were used as the surrogate cationic metallic contaminants. These experiments demonstrated that ion transport during the electrokinetic process occurs due to both electro-osmosis and electromigration, but that due to electromigration is significantly higher than that due to electro-osmosis. Unlike other clays such as kaolinite, the glacial till used for this investigation possessed high buffering capacity because of its high carbonate content which prevented the acid front migration from the anode to the cathode during the electrokinetic process. The ion removal efficiency of the electrokinetic process was found to increase when: (1) the voltage gradient applied to the soil was increased, (2) the initial concentration of the contaminants was increased, and (3) the duration of the treatment process was increased. The ion removal efficiency was also greater for smaller ions which possess less ionic charge and when the ions existed independently in the soil as compared to when they coexisted. This investigation suggests that the electrokinetic process has significant potential for remediating glacial tills contaminated with metals. However, the properties of Na and Ca are not representative of contaminants, such as heavy metals, so further investigations are needed.     

Effect of system variables and particle size on physical characteristics of air sparging plumes

Air was injected through a well in a thin transparent tank filled with saturated glass beads to study how the size and air saturation of air sparging plumes are affected by particle size and gradation; operational parameters such as injection pressure, well depth, injection pressure pulsing; and well outlet configuration. V-shaped air plumes with an apex between 40° and 60° were obtained for all tests. The air pressure required to initiate sparging agreed closely with the sum of the air entry pressure and the hydrostatic pressure, with higher initiation pressures required in the fine and well-graded beads. Higher air flow rates and air saturations were obtained in coarser beads at a given pressure, and the variation in flow rate was consistent with estimated air permeabilities. Peak average air saturations were 28–56% for the coarse-medium beads, 10% for the well-graded beads, and 8% for the fine beads. Air saturation and the radius of influence increased modestly (<40%) as the normalized injection pressure exceeded 0.1. Radius of influence increased by approximately a factor of two as the well depth increased, but leveled off once the ratio of radius of influence to well depth reached 0.60–1.05. Pulsing of injection pressure had no effect on the initiation pressure, air flow rate, or air saturation, but increased the size of the air plume and the radius of influence slightly (<15%). Well outlet configuration had only a slight affect the radius of influence (<10%), air saturation (<10%), or air flow rate (<12%). Dye testing showed that water surrounding the air plume circulated during continuous and pulsed sparging. However, pulsed sparging resulted in greater and more defined circulation of water within and adjacent to the air plume, which should reduce mass transfer limitations during sparging.     

Geochemistry and mineralogy of shallow alluvial aquifers in Daudkandi upazila in the Meghna flood plain, Bangladesh

The shallow alluvial aquifers of the delta plains and flood plains of Bangladesh, comprises about 70% of total land area are mostly affected by elevated concentrations of arsenic (As) in groundwater exposing a population of more than 35 million to As toxicity. Geochemical studies of shallow alluvial aquifer in the Meghna flood plain show that the uppermost yellowish grey sediment is low in As (1.03 mg/kg) compared to the lower dark grey to black sediment (5.24 mg/kg) rich in mica and organic matter. Sequential extraction data show that solid phase As bound to poorly crystalline and amorphous metal (Fe, Mn, Al)-oxyhydroxides is dominant in the grey to dark grey sediment and reaches its maximum level (3.05 mg/kg) in the mica rich layers. Amount of As bound to sulphides and organic matter also peaks in the dark grey to black sediment. Vertical distributions of major elements determined by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) show that iron (Fe₂O₃), aluminum (Al₂O₃) and manganese (MnO) follow the general trend of distribution of As in the sediments. Concentrations of As, Mn, Fe, HCO₃ ⁻, SO₄ ²⁻ and NO₃ ⁻ in groundwater reflect the redox status of the aquifer and are consistent with solid phase geochemistry. Mineralogical analysis by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) fitted with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS) revealed dominance of crystalline iron oxides and hydroxides like magnetite, hematite and goethite in the oxidised yellowish grey sediment. Amorphous Fe-oxyhydroxides identified as grain coating in the mica and organic matter rich sediment suggests weathering of biotite is playing a critical role as the source of Fe(III)-oxyhydroxides which in turn act as sink for As. Presence of authigenic pyrite in the dark grey sediment indicates active reduction in the aquifer.     

关于管道勘察报告中数理统计方法的研究应用

管道勘察中的分区数理统计是综合反映管道的地表植被、工程地质、地形地貌、岩性特征、不良地质作用等的一系列重要参数,它为管道的设计施工提供了具体翔实的基础资料。在编制输油管道勘察报告过程中,管道数据量庞大,地表植被分区、工程地质分区等数理统计工作占据很大的工作量。但就目前来看,人们普遍还是采用传统的人工计算器运算,这样既繁琐、费时,出错率还很高。本文根据现状,对于管道的数理统计方法进行了相应的分析研究,开发出基于测量平台并具本专业特色的统计软件,提高了数理统计效率,减少了工作量,降低了出错机率,取得了很好的效果。