Pollution indicators,fish consumption and the accumulation of mercury in human hair

Mercury can accumulate in the human body from fish and from other environmental sources, and the amount accumulated is indicated by hair mercury concentration. Anthropogenic mercury losses in many countries have been correlated with Gross National Product (GNP, an indicator of industrial activity), and industrial density (represented by GNP/land area, i.e. GNP/LA) has been used as an indicator of potential pollution for coastal fishing grounds. For a data set taken from the literature, 30% of the 54% variability in hair mercury concentrations explained by national fish consumption can also be explained by GNP/LA. However, using new data, the effect of GNP and GNP/LA on the amount of mercury accumulated in hair of people from many countries was insignificant compared to the effect of national fish consumption. 74.1% of the variability in the hair mercury levels of people who ate the same number of meals of fish was explained by the national average fish consumption. This suggests that fish species and fish size are more important than general indicators of mercury pollution when estimating the mercury accumulation in humans on an international scale.     

A review of coal properties pertinent to carbon dioxide sequestration in coal seams: with special reference to Victorian brown coals

This paper presents reviews of studies on properties of coal pertinent to carbon dioxide (CO₂) sequestration in coal with specific reference to Victorian brown coals. The coal basins in Victoria, Australia have been identified as one of the largest brown coal resources in the world and so far few studies have been conducted on CO₂ sequestration in this particular type of coals. The feasibility of CO₂ sequestration depends on three main factors: (1) coal mass properties (chemical, physical and microscopic properties), (2) seam permeability, and (3) gas sorption properties of the coal. Firstly, the coal mass properties of Victorian brown coal are presented, and then the general variations of the coal mass properties with rank, for all types of coal, are discussed. Subsequently, coal gas permeability and gas sorption are considered, and the physical factors which affect them are examined. In addition, existing models for coal gas permeability and gas sorption in coal are reviewed and the possibilities of further development of these models are discussed. According to the previous studies, coal mass properties and permeability and gas sorption characteristics of coals are different for different ranks: lignite to medium volatile bituminous coals and medium volatile bituminous to anthracite coals. This is important for the development of mathematical models for gas permeability and sorption behavior. Furthermore, the models have to take into account volume effect which can be significant under high pressure and temperature conditions. Also, the viscosity and density of supercritical CO₂ close to the critical point can undergo large and rapid changes. To date, few studies have been conducted on CO₂ sequestration in Victorian brown coal, and for all types of coal, very few studies have been conducted on CO₂ sequestration under high pressure and temperature conditions.     

Sedimentology,structure and age estimate of five continental slope submarine landslides,eastern Australia

Sedimentological and accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) ¹⁴C data provide estimates of the structure and age of five submarine landslides (～0.4–3 km³) present on eastern Australia's continental slope between Noosa Heads and Yamba. Dating of the post-slide conformably deposited sediment indicates sediment accumulation rates between 0.017 m ka^–1 and 0.2 m ka^–1, which is consistent with previous estimates reported for this area. Boundary surfaces were identified in five continental slope cores at depths of 0.8 to 2.2 m below the present-day seafloor. Boundary surfaces present as a sharp colour-change across the surface, discernible but small increases in sediment stiffness, a slight increase in sediment bulk density of 0.1 g cm^–3, and distinct gaps in AMS ¹⁴C ages of at least 25 ka. Boundary surfaces are interpreted to represent a slide plane detachment surface but are not necessarily the only ones or even the major ones. Sub-bottom profiler records indicate that: (1) the youngest identifiable sediment reflectors upslope from three submarine landslides terminate on and are truncated by slide rupture surfaces; (2) there is no obvious evidence for a post-slide sediment layer draped over, or burying, slide ruptures or exposed slide detachment surfaces; and (3) the boundary surfaces identified within the cores are unlikely to be near-surface slide surfaces within an overall larger en masse dislocation. These findings suggest that these submarine landslides are geologically recent (<25 ka), and that the boundary surfaces are either: (a) an erosional features that developed after the landslide, in which case the boundary surface age provides a minimum age for the landslide; or (b) detachment surfaces from which slabs of near-surface sediment were removed during landsliding, in which case the age of the sediment above the boundary surface indicates the approximate age of landsliding. While an earthquake-triggering mechanism is favoured for the initiation of submarine landslides on the eastern Australian margin, further evidence is required to confirm this interpretation.     

Natural iodine-129 as an environmental tracer

Iodine-129 ($\text{t}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>1</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}$, 16 My) is a naturally-occurring tracer which can be used to study hydrologic and geologic processes on time scales up to 100 My. The pre-bomb atmospheric ratio ${}^{129}\text{I}\text{I}$ should have been constant in time and space and is the starting value in ground-water recharge. Subsequent ratio changes in ground water should be determined by isotope contributions from three sources: recharge water, iodine leached from the formation, and in situ uranium fission. The mathematical expression of these time-dependent processes forms the basis for dating and tracing applications.The expected behavior of natural ¹²⁹I in ground water is compared to results from field studies. Ground-water samples from the Great Artesian Basin, Australia, provide an estimate of the atmospheric equilibrium ratio, 6 × 10^?13. Down-gradient changes in water up to 1 My old suggest that subsurface production can be significant. The usefulness of ¹²⁹I as an indicator of brine source and age is verified in brines collected in and around Louisiana salt domes. The method leads to ages of 7 and 9 My for two brine pockets trapped within Jurassic salt, and 32 to >40 My for oil-field brines in Miocene sands adjacent to the domes.The results demonstrate the capability of tandem accelerator mass spectrometry to measure as few as 10⁷ atoms of ¹²⁹I in 10 mg I with 10% precision. Although such atom sensitivity can be achieved otherwise, the accelerator technique is necessary to measure naturally low pre-1945 cosmogenic isotope ratios.     

Catchment disturbance inferred from paleolimnological studies of three contrasted sub-humid environments in Morocco

Paleolimnological techniques for assessing recent drainage basin disturbance are evaluated in three Moroccan lakes with catchments contrasted in terms of land-use and vegetation. Rates of sediment accumulation in the two lakes with agricultural catchments were relatively high (>1.6 cm yr^-1) in the most recent past. Dilution effects prevented core dating by the ²¹⁰Pb method alone and post-1953 chronologies were constructed by combining ²¹⁰Pb and ¹³⁷Cs data. The recent sediment accumulation rate at the currently least disturbed site, where natural Cedrus forest is still abundant, was relatively low (<0.4 cm yr^-1) but has increased since the mid-19th century.Magnetic, geochemical, pollen, and diatom studies of all three lake sediment cores linked with modern field survey data show that soil erosion in the most vegetationally disturbed catchment (Dayat-er-Roumi) has been high throughout the recent past and that intensity peaks are probably associated with wetland drainage operations beginning in the 1940's. At the partially forested site (Dayat Affougah), pre-1950's woodland clearance and other land-use changes are the likely cause of past major soil erosion episodes. The site currently dominated by natural Cedrus forest (Lac Azigza) shows only minor disturbance during the past c. 150 years although a major soil erosion episode occrred in the 17th century.Paleolimnological analysis has clearly demonstrated that major landscape change has occurred at all three sites. However, only at the two sites with catchment cultivation do previously accelerated soil erosion and lake sediment accumulation rates persist to the present. Information essential for formulation of appropriate management plans is presented and the importance of paleolimnology in assessing man-induced lake-catchment disturbance is stressed.     

Self-repair of cracks and defects in clay: a review of evidence,mechanisms, theories and nomenclature

Clay minerals and clayey soils have been extensively researched over the last century leading to a rich and still evolving corpus of knowledge on clay chemistry, microstructure and macroscopic behaviour. Clay has the ability, under certain conditions, to spontaneously repair its cracks. However, despite ample evidence, clay self-repair remains understudied and under-theorised. For example, the majority of experimental studies discussing clay self-repair infer its existence from changes to macroscopic properties assumed to be caused by self-repair, and only a small number of studies have attempted to observe self-repair directly. This paper reviews the literature on clay self-repair. First, it situates clay self-repair within the broader context of self-repairing material. Next, autogenous self-repair of clay, under wet-dry cycles, freeze–thaw cycles and deep-ground consolidation, is presented focusing on evidence, driving mechanisms and key variables of influence. Next, theories of clay self-repair proposed in the literature are discussed, highlighting their scope and limitations, as well as the extent to which they have been validated by experimental observations. Key gaps in current knowledge of clay self-repair are highlighted and ways in which they can be addressed in future research are proposed. Finally, a nomenclature distinguishing between different kinds of clay self-repair is proposed based on eight different attributes.

     

Three‐dimensional finite elements for the analysis of soil contamination using a multiple‐porosity approach

A three‐dimensional finite‐element model of contaminant migration in fissured clays or contaminated sand which includes multiple sources of non‐equilibrium processes is proposed. The conceptual framework can accommodate a regular network of fissures in 1D, 2D or 3D and immobile solutions in the macro‐pores of aggregated topsoils, as well as non‐equilibrium sorption. A Galerkin weighted‐residual statement for the three‐dimensional form of the equations in the Laplace domain is formulated. Equations are discretized using linear and quadratic prism elements. The system of algebraic equations is solved in the Laplace domain and solution is inverted to the time domain numerically. The model is validated and its scope is illustrated through the analysis of three problems: a waste repository deeply buried in fissured clay, a storage tank leaking into sand and a sanitary landfill leaching into fissured clay over a sand aquifer. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Discrete element modelling of creep of asphalt mixtures

Creep tests on asphalt mixtures have been undertaken under four stress levels in the laboratory while the discrete element model (DEM) has been used to simulate the laboratory tests. A modified Burger’s model has been used to represent the time-dependent behaviour of an asphalt mixture by adding time-dependent moment and torsional resistance at contacts. Parameters were chosen to give the correct stress-strain response for constant strain rate tests in Cai et al. (2013). The stress-strain response for the laboratory creep tests and the simulations were recorded. The DEM results show reasonable agreement with the experiments. The creep simulation results proved to be dependent on both bond strength variability and positions of the particles. Bond breakage was recorded during the simulations and used to investigate the micro-mechanical deformation behaviour of the asphalt mixtures. An approach based on dimensional analysis is also presented in this paper to reduce the computational time during the creep simulation, and this analysis is also a new contribution.     

An extended modified cam clay model for improved accuracy at low and high-end stress levels

Abstract

The Modified Cam Clay (MCC) model is extended based on S-shaped compression so that the quantitative inaccuracies and the qualitative errors of the model associated with both low and high stress levels can be removed. The following modifications are made: (i) a material constant r, the spacing ratio, is introduced; (ii) the yield surface is modified for r?≠?2; and (iii) the ratio of the elastic compression index to the virgin compression index is assumed to be constant. The compression and shearing behavior of reconstituted clays for p′ < ∝ can be successfully described. Following the same method, the proposed complete S-shaped compression curve can be implemented to many existing models, removing errors of the models at the extremities of stress level and improving the performance of the models for different stress levels with one set of values of the model parameters.