Tracing effects of decalcification on solute sources in a shallow groundwater aquifer, NW Germany

δ⁸⁷Sr values and Ca/Sr ratios were employed to quantify solute inputs from atmospheric and lithogenic sources to a catchment in NW Germany. The aquifer consists primarily of unconsolidated Pleistocene eolian and fluviatile deposits predominated by >90% quartz sand. Accessory minerals include feldspar, glauconite, and mica, as well as disperse calcium carbonate in deeper levels. Decalcification of near-surface sediment induces groundwater pH values up to 4.4 that lead to enhanced silicate weathering. Consequently, low mineralized Ca–Na–Cl- and Ca–Cl-groundwater types are common in shallow depths, while in deeper located calcareous sediment Ca–HCO₃-type groundwater prevails. δ⁸⁷Sr values and Ca/Sr ratios of the dissolved pool range from 7.3 to −2.6 and 88 to 493, respectively. Positive δ⁸⁷Sr values and low Ca/Sr ratios indicate enhanced feldspar dissolution in shallow depths of less than 20 m below soil surface (BSS), while equilibrium with calcite governs negative δ⁸⁷Sr values and elevated Ca/Sr ratios in deep groundwater (>30 m BSS). Both positive and negative δ⁸⁷Sr values are evolved in intermediate depths (20–30 m BSS). For groundwater that is undersaturated with respect to calcite, atmospheric supplies range from 4% to 20%, while feldspar-weathering accounts for 8–26% and calcium carbonate for 62–90% of dissolved Sr²⁺. In contrast, more than 95% of Sr²⁺ is derived by calcium carbonate and less than 5% by feldspar dissolution in Ca–HCO₃-type groundwater. The surprisingly high content of carbonate-derived Sr²⁺ in groundwater of the decalcified portion of the aquifer may account for considerable contributions from Ca-containing fertilizers. Complementary tritium analyses show that equilibrium with calcite is restricted to old groundwater sources.     

Active Soils of the Niger Delta in Road Pavement Design and Construction

Active soils existing to irreplaceable extents (both laterally and vertically) within the freshwater zone of the Niger delta are known and have been shown to be highly undesirable in their natural forms for road construction. This is because they swell extensively in the rainy season and shrink proportionately in the dry months together with any structure including road pavement constructed with or placed on them. In this paper, four samples of these soils collected from across the Niger delta were subjected to chemical stabilization with slaked-lime and calcium chloride (CaCl₂) to reduce swelling potential while resulting mixtures (corresponding to tolerable swelling limits) were stabilized with Portland cement to improve strength. First, swell indicator (i.e. 24-h free swell index) was found to diminish with increasing stabilizer content while for combined plot (independent of location/percentage fines), about 10.7% and 6% slaked-lime and CaCl₂ were found to be required to achieve the minimum (2.5% free swell) tolerable, normal or non-swell soil condition. Under this condition and for individual soil materials, addition of cement was found to enhance continual increase in MDD, soaked-CBR and durability index such that the soil becomes better compactible, stronger and more durable with increasing cement content. About 2.6% and 14.6% cement contents were found needed to respectively produce sub-base and base-course materials in roadworks with the latter much more durable than the former. The graphs so obtain could also constitute a complete graphical model for preparing deltaic active soils for use as road pavement materials.     

Geomorphic controls on deposition of salt in the Greater Tamar Catchment,northeast Tasmania

In Tasmania, most salts in the landscape originate from rainfall and accumulate in landscapes after evaporation occurs. The distribution and quantity of salt in rainfall from an array of bulk deposition collectors in the Greater Tamar Catchment were assessed for the period September 2013 to August 2014. The bulk deposition samples were analysed for pH, electrical conductivity, major ions (Ca, Mg, Na, SO₄ and Cl) and a selection of trace ions. The average salt flux across the study area was 79 ± 10 kg/ha/yr region, ranging from 170 ± 12 kg/ha/yr near the coast in the north to 42 ± 6 kg/ha/yr inland. Deposition of most ions decreased from the northwest to the south and east, and peaked in winter and spring. Geomorphic factors such as elevation and topography have an important effect on the volume of rainfall and flux of salt from windblown dust and oceanic aerosols. A comparison of measured chloride and salt deposition in Tasmania with other Australian atmospheric studies indicates that continental-scale models of salt flux are not appropriate for Tasmania. New models are proposed that take into account the influence of the Southern Ocean, Tasman Sea and topographic variation in the study area. The results provide improved estimates of rainfall-derived salt inputs to catchments in northeast Tasmania and enable more accurate salt budget modelling. Improved understanding of volumes and distribution of salts has implications for the management of soils and infrastructure that degrade as a result of dryland salinity in Tasmania.     

Determination of Ca,K, Mg and Fe in four fish species by FAAS

A method for determining calcium(Ca),potassium(K),magnesium(Mg) and iron(Fe) in four fish species was optimized and validated.It included microwave mineralization of the samples and subsequent quantification by flame atomic absorption spectroscopy(FAAS) with Zeeman-effect background correction.Using HNO3(65%) and H2O2(33%) as extraction solutions,the optimal conditions of extraction were established as follows:0.5 g of sample mass;microwave time program of 300 W/5 min and 600 W/5 min.The method was free of matrix interferences.The linear correlation coefficients were ≥0.9991,the recovery percentage of analytes was from 99.31% to 103.70% and the RSD(relative standard deviation) was lower than 2.06%.The detection limits obtained were 32.3,43.2,14.0 and 68.6 ng mL-1 for Ca,K,Mg and Fe in FAAS respectively.It is shown that the method is rapid,simple,sensitive and accurate.The method was applied to the studies of digestibility and measurement of these nutrients in samples of fish collected from Norway,Japan and China.     

黄土碳酸盐碳同位素环境意义讨论

黄土碳酸盐碳同位素广泛应用于第四纪气候环境变化的研究中,以往的大多数研究中无论是利用钙结核、次生碳酸盐还是成壤碳酸盐,认为其反映了C4植物的丰度。黄土高原碳酸盐碳同位素表现为黄土层高,古土壤层中低,即黄土层中C4植物丰度高于古土壤层。然而,这样的结果和黄土有机碳同位素得到的结果矛盾,有机碳同位素的结果表明温度对C4植物的分布起到了决定性作用。由于有机碳同位素对植物类型的反映更为直接而可靠,因此碳酸盐碳同位素反映C4植物丰度存在疑问。对黄土高原黄土碳酸盐碳同位素的系统概括后认为,第四纪期间黄土碳酸盐碳同位素与C4植物有直接联系,但C4植物丰度不是唯一决定性的因素,碳酸盐碳同位素的指示意义存在复杂性。在黄土高原地区,植被发育程度、与大气CO2交换程度、植被本身的碳同位素值的变化以及原生碳酸盐的影响等因素都会对碳酸盐碳同位素产生影响。由黄土碳酸盐碳同位素的讨论可延伸到不同土壤碳酸盐碳同位素揭示的环境指示意义,不同的土壤环境,其气候条件、植被类型及发育程度、大气CO2的交换情况、微生物的活动及土壤次生碳酸盐受原生碳酸盐溶解的影响等因素都会对碳同位素产生不同程度影响,哪种或哪几种因素产生主要作用,在不同区域土壤环境中是不一样的。具体研究中需确定影响的核心因素,才能确定碳同位素的环境指示意义。     

光卤石分解制取氯化钾晶体粒度控制技术

讨论了1×106t钾肥生产线光卤石分解、氯化钾结晶的晶体粒度影响因素,给出了最佳工艺控制条件,使氯化钾的产品粒度70%0.2 mm,基本达到了设计要求,降低了湿产品的含水量,减少了干燥成本。     

Adsorption of tributyltin by tributyltin resistant marine Pseudoalteromonas sp. cells

The isolate, Pesudoalteromonas sp. TBT1, could grow to overcome the toxicity of tributyltin chloride (TBTCl) up to 30 μM in the absence of Cl⁻ in the medium until the cells reached an exponential phase of growth. The viability, however, was reduced after the cells reached a stationary phase. The degradation products, such as dibutyltin (DBT) and monobutyltin (MBT), were not detected in the growth medium, indicating that the isolate has no ability to degrade TBT into less toxic DBT and MBT. Up to about 10^7.5 TBT molecules were adsorbed by a single cell. The observation of morphological changes with an electron microscope showed that the cell surface became wrinkled after exposure to the lethal concentration of 10 mM TBTCl. These results indicate that the resistance of the isolate toward the toxicity of TBTCl is not related to the unique cell surface, which seems to play an important role in preventing the diffusion of TBTCl into the cytoplasm.     

Hydrodynamic loads on subsea robots

Free floating subsea robots are often subjected to complex hydrodynamic loads due to waves/currents and wakes from nearby structures. This makes control extremely difficult. Good hydrodynamics data might counteract this. This paper presents hydrodynamics data for two configurations undergoing various combinations of steady translation and approximately steady rotation. The two configurations are: a spherical body with a single fixed link arm and a two link arm without a body. For both configurations neural networks were found to provide a reasonable fit to the data. We believe that such fits could be used to improve control.     

LiCl-MgCl2-H2O及其子体系多温下体积性质研究(英文)

用高精度振动管密度仪测定二元系统(Li Cl-H₂O和MgCl₂-H₂O)和三元系统(Li Cl-MgCl₂-H₂O)在273.15至308.15 K下溶液密度。采用VFT方程关联了Li Cl和MgCl₂溶液密度与温度、摩尔浓度关系。利用Young理想混合规则,根据二元体积性质计算计算了三元系统溶液密度。采用Pitzer离子相互模型拟合了Li ClMgCl₂-H₂O,得到Pitzer单盐参数(β_M~(_X⁰ V),β_M~(_X¹ V),and C^V_MX,MX=Li Cl和MgCl₂)和混合离子相互作用参数(θ^V_Li,Mg、ψ^V_Li,Mg,Cl     

Ground Based FTIR Measurements of Stratospheric Species from Harestua, Norway During Sesame and Comparison with Models

Vertical columns of HF, HCl, HNO3, ClONO2, N2O, ClO and COF2 were measured at Harestua, Norway (60.22° N, 10.75° E, Elevation 600 a.s.l.) beginning on 24 November 1994 and concluding on 1 May 1995 during Phase-III of the SESAME (Second European Stratospheric Arctic and Mid-latitude Experiment) measurement campaign. The vertical columns of HCl, HNO3 and ClONO2 measured on 81 days were compared with columns calculated by the 3-D Cambridge model SLIMCAT. In addition the results were also interpreted by comparison with a photochemical trajectory model. Good agreement was seen for HCl while the nitrogen compounds showed larger discrepancies, especially for ClONO2. Evidence for chlorine activation was seen with 65% reduction of the chlorine reservoirs (HCl + ClONO2) while the levels of ClO were greatly enhanced. Interpretation of the loss with the trajectory model indicated condensation of chlorine on PSCs. The vertical column ratio of COF2 and HF was measured to 0.21 outside the vortex and a factor of two lower inside. The recovery of ClONO2 was seen to be much faster than that of HCl in the early spring.