One hundred years of sedimentation history of heavy metals in Daya Bay, China

The estuarine and coastal systems play an important role in sedimentary deposition which acts as a sink of particle-associated contaminants （PACs） such as heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. These pollutants are supposed to be harmful to biota in aquatic systems by their persistence, bio-accumulation and toxicity. Therefore, it is needed to understand how anthropogenic activities change the concentrations of potential contaminants in the aquatic environment. In addition, chronologies of metal concentrations can be constructed by ^137Cs and ^210Pbex in dated core sediments. In the present work, the concentrations of the heavy metals As, Cd, Cr, Pb, Cu, Zn, Co, Fe, and Mn were measured in sediment cores collected from four stations （W0, W2, W6, W9） around the Guangdong Nuclear Power Station （GNPS） at the Daya Bay （China）. Methods： after dissolved by mixed mineral acids, the concentrations of heavy metals were determined by PE AAnalysit-700 atomic absorption spectroscopy. The composition of total organic mater （TOC） and total nitrogen （TN） was also evaluated by elemental analysis instruments （CHN-O-RAPID, Heraeus, Germany）. Activities of ^210Pbex and ^137Cs were determined on a Gamma-ray spectrometer （EG ＆ G ORTEC ADCAM-2000, P-type, relative efficiency 35%）. Results and discussion： the experimental data showed that the average values of heavy metals are 18.6, 0.035, 32.9, 38.1, 10.6, 74.9, 4.1, 29100 and 543 mg/kg for As, Cd, Cr, Pb, Cu, Zn, Co, Fe and Mn, respectively, which are obviously larger than the background abundances of those heavy metals in sediment cores.     

^210Pb chronology and trace metal geochemistry at Los Tuxtlas, Mexico, as evidenced by a sedimentary record from the Lago Verde crater lake

Lago Verde is a fresh water maar found in the San Martin volcano, at the Sierra of Los Tuxtlas, Mexico, currently the northernmost remnant of the tropical rain forest in America. A sediment core from Lago Verde was analyzed for ^210Pb and ^137Cs in order to assess the evolution of the accretion rates in the lake and to reconstruct the historical fluxes of heavy metals （Ag, Cd, Cu, Pb, Hg and Zn） to the site during the last -140 years. C/N ^13C were used to evaluate the provenance of the organic atomic ratios and matter accumulated in the sediments. Modem sediments from Lago Verde were found enriched in Pb （26-fold natural concentration level, NCL＇s） and moderately enriched in Cd〉Cu〉Zn and Hg （6, 5, 4 and 4 fold corresponding NCL＇s）. The excess fluxes of Cu, Hg, Pb and Zn have importantly increased during the last 60 years, with peak ratios of total modem to preindustrial fluxes （FR） of 11, 11, 19 and 49, respectively. The lake occupies a relatively pristine, non-industrialized basin, surrounded mostly by pasture lands and sugar cane fields; therefore the increased metal fluxes recorded in the sediment core are most likely related to the enhanced rate of erosion within the watershed, promoted by changes in land use and the irrational deforestation of the tropical rain forest, which have occurred during the past.     

渤海地区^210Pb、^137Cs同位素测年的研究现状

近百年来环渤海地区的沉积作用是影响该区近现代地质环境变化的重要因素。本文收集了该区迄今公开发表的用于确定现代沉积速率的84组^210Pb、^137Cs柱状剖面（包括210Pb样柱52组，^210Pb、^137Cs样柱32组），其中海区39组，潮间带及沿海低地地区45组。环渤海地区的^210Pb放射性活度的深度分布曲线主要表现为3种形式：理想指数衰变型、近等幅摆动型和海洋特殊动力事件影响型。根据由陆向海方向沉积速率的变化，可初步划分为沿岸低沉积速率带、开放潮坪高沉积速率带及海区低沉积速率区；区域性差异则表现为渤海湾开放潮坪区上部由北（蓟运河口）向南（老狼坨子）沉积速率表现为高-低-高，辽东湾从其西侧的锦州湾向东至辽河河口的开放潮坪地区，沉积速率递减，黄河三角洲地区及其附近海域属于间歇式快速沉积区，莱州湾西部为高速沉积区。     

Sediment yield and runoff frequency of small drainage basins in the Mojave Desert, U.S.A.

Sediment yield from small arid basins, particularly in the Mojave Desert, is largely unknown owing to the ephemeral nature of these fluvial systems and long recurrence interval of flow events. We examined 27 reservoirs in the northern and eastern Mojave Desert that trapped sediment from small (< 1 km²) drainage basins on alluvial fans over the past 100 yr, calculated annual sediment yield, and estimated the average recurrence interval (RI) of sediment-depositing flow events. These reservoirs formed where railbeds crossed and blocked channels, causing sediment to be trapped and stored upslope. Deposits are temporally constrained by the date of railway construction (1906–1910), the presence of ¹³⁷Cs in the reservoir profile (post-1952 sediment), and either 1993, when some basins breached during regional flooding, or 2000–2001, when stratigraphic analyses were performed. Reservoir deposits are well stratified at most sites and have distinct fining-upward couplets indicative of discrete episodes of sediment-bearing runoff. Average RI of runoff events for these basins ranges from 2.6 to 7.3 yr and reflects the incidence of either intense or prolonged rainfall; more than half the runoff events occurred before 1963. A period of above-normal precipitation, from 1905 to 1941, may have increased runoff frequency in these basins. Mean sediment yield (9 to 48 tons km^− 2 yr^− 1) is an order of magnitude smaller than sediment yields calculated elsewhere and may be limited by reduced storm intensity, the presence of desert pavement, and shallow gradient of fan surfaces. Sediment yield decreases as drainage area increases, a trend typical of much larger drainage basins where sediment-transport processes constrain sediment yield. Coarse substrate and low-angle slopes of these alluvial fan surfaces likely limit sediment transport capacity through transmission losses and channel storage.     

Historical change in lake sedimentation in Lake Takkobu, Kushiro Mire, northern Japan over the last 300 years

Environmental degradation, including shallowing, deterioration of aquatic habitat and water pollution, has arisen from the inflow of fine sediment to Lake Takkobu in northern Japan. The lake has experienced gradual environmental degradation due to agricultural development, which has introduced both fine sediment and sediment-associated nutrients into the lake. We have reconstructed the history of sediment yield to Lake Takkobu in Kushiro Mire over the last 300 years and have examined trends with reference to land-use development. Fifteen lake sediment core samples were obtained, and various physical variables of lake sediments were analyzed and dated using ¹³⁷Cs and tephrochronology. The physical variables showed that all points contained mainly silt, except for two points close to the river mouths, where the mean diameter was < 35 μm. The peaks were defined as a “signal” when the physical variables were synchronous in a profile. These were created by floods and engineering works constructing drainage systems. The signal of canal construction in 1898 was detected in all core points. Lake Takkobu core samples contained two tephra layers. From the refractive indices of dehydrated glasses, the lower tephra layer was identified as Ko-c2 (1694) and the upper tephra layer as Ta-a (1739). A clear peak in the ¹³⁷Cs concentration was detected at all the sampling points, except for the site close to the Takkobu River. This site showed two peaks in the ¹³⁷Cs concentration, which was attributed to perturbation from flood events and a drainage project. The maximum ¹³⁷Cs concentration was identified as the sediment surface from 1963, enveloped by the 1962 and 1964 signals. The sediment yield averaged over the last 300 years for Lake Takkobu was reconstructed for four periods using the signal, tephra and ¹³⁷Cs as marker layers. The sediment yield under the natural erosion condition for the first two periods was 226 tons/year from 1694 to 1739 and 196 tons/year from 1739 to 1898. The development of the Takkobu watershed started in 1880s with partial deforestation and channelization in 1898, 1959, and 1962 leading to an increased sedimentation yield of 1016 tons/year from 1898 to 1963. Continued deforestation, channelization works in 1964, road construction in 1980–1990s, as well as agriculture development caused a further increase to 1354 tons/year from 1963 to 2004. Compared to the averaged natural sedimentation yield of 206 tons/year until 1898, initial land-use development in a catchment accelerated lake sedimentation, indicated by the 5-fold sediment yield. With increasing agricultural development since 1960s, sedimentation yields were highest for 1963–2004; a 7-fold increase compared with pre-impact conditions. To reduce sediment yield, riparian buffers along the rivers should be preserved or rebuilt, and sluices may function effectively during short-term periods of flooding. Environmental management policy and laws restricting uncontrolled and inappropriate land-use might help in addition to ensure longer-term environmental health by reducing the sedimentation rate.     

Cs+水合结构的密度泛函理论计算研究

基于密度泛函理论在ωB97XD/gen def2-tzvp基组水平上对[Cs(H_2O)n]~+(n=1～15)水合团簇结构的振动光谱进行了研究。研究表明,随着水分子数的增加,在气相和液相中,八配位的Cs~+水合团簇是最稳定的;随着水分子数的增加,Cs-O键长增大,Cs~+上的电荷密度减小。当水分子数大于11时,Cs-O键长和Cs~+上的电荷密度变化很小。O(H_2O)-O(H_2O)距离、∠O(H_2O)-Cs-O(H_2O)°统计结果表明,15个水分子足以形成Cs~+的近似饱和水合层。此外,红外光谱显示[Cs(H_2O)n]~+水合团簇中O-H伸缩振动随着水分子数的增加而发生变化,由此可以作为鉴别水合层位置的一种参考方法。     

Atmospheric pollutants transport tracks revealed from 131I, 137Cs,and 134Cs leaked from Fukushima accident and 7Be and 210Pb observed at Guiyang of China

A massive earthquake measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale that occurred on March 11, 2011, on Honshu Island, Japan, caused radioactivity leakage from the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, which led to the leakage of artificial nuclides （131I, 137Cs, and 134Cs） and their global transportation by atmospheric circulation. This paper re- ports a systematic comparative observation on radioactive concentrations of natural nuclides （7Be and 210Pb） and artificial nuclides （131I, 137Cs, and 134Cs） at the surface level, measured in weekly continuous aerosol sampling at Mount Guanfeng, Guiyang, China, from March 17, 2011 to April 28, 2011. During this period, the variations in the nuclide concentrations associated with their transport paths were analyzed with 315 hour back-trajectories of air mass initialized 500 m above the surface level at Guiyang. The results show that the pollutants of nuclear leakage from the Fukushima accident were transported to the Guiyang region of China via two significant pathways. In the first pathway the first wave of nuclear pollutants were transported from west to east in air masses at higher altitudes via global atmospheric circulation. The nuclear pollutants encircled the Earth almost once and after about 10 days to two weeks, between March 24 and March 31,2011, intruded Guiyang from the northwestern region of China. In the second pathway, the nuclear pollutants from the Fukushima region arrived at Guiyang between April 7 and April 14, 201 l, via air masses at lower altitudes that moved southwards because of the squeezing of the northeast Asian weather system and then by the influence, in succession, of the northeastern and southeastern air currents in the low-latitude region. The first transport pathway for atmospheric pollutants is on a global scale and based on air masses at higher altitudes, and the second transport pathway is on an eastern Asia regional scale and based on the air masses at lower altitude.