A hybrid method for inverse characterization of subsurface contaminant flux

The methods presented in this work provide a potential tool for characterizing contaminant source zones in terms of mass flux. The problem was conceptualized by considering contaminant transport through a vertical "flux plane" located between a source zone and a downgradient region where contaminant concentrations were measured. The goal was to develop a robust method capable of providing a statement of the magnitude and uncertainty associated with estimated contaminant mass flux values. In order to estimate the magnitude and transverse spatial distribution of mass flux through a plane, the problem was considered in an optimization framework. Two numerical optimization techniques were applied, simulated annealing (SA) and minimum relative entropy (MRE). The capabilities of the flux plane model and the numerical solution techniques were evaluated using data from a numerically generated test problem and a nonreactive tracer experiment performed in a three-dimensional aquifer model. Results demonstrate that SA is more robust and converges more quickly than MRE. However, SA is not capable of providing an estimate of the uncertainty associated with the simulated flux values. In contrast, MRE is not as robust as SA, but once in the neighborhood of the optimal solution, it is quite effective as a tool for inferring mass flux probability density functions, expected flux values, and confidence limits. A hybrid (SA-MRE) solution technique was developed in order to take advantage of the robust solution capabilities of SA and the uncertainty estimation capabilities of MRE. The coupled technique provided probability density functions and confidence intervals that would not have been available from an independent SA algorithm and they were obtained more efficiently than if provided by an independent MRE algorithm.     

Experimental study and modeling of the transfer of zinc in a low reactive sand column in the presence of acetate

Nowadays, it is necessary to understand and identify the reactions governing the fate of heavy metals introduced into the environment with low complexing organic compounds, particularly when they are transferred through soils in urban areas. In this work the concomitant influence of pH and acetate on the fate of zinc on siliceous sand was studied in batch and non-saturated column experiments. Total zinc concentrations varied between 2 and 20 mg/l, and total acetate concentrations were fixed at 22, 72, 132, and 223 mM to obtain solution pHs of 4, 5, 6 and 7, respectively. Natural sand (diameter, 0.3-2 mm), mainly constituted of silica, was used. In batch adsorption experiments, zinc adsorption is insignificant at pH 4, low and linear at pH 5, and increasingly nonlinear, of the Langmuir type, at pH 6 and 7 indicating near-saturation conditions of surface sites at these high pH values. In column experiments, Zn retardation increases and the maximum outlet concentration of Zn decreases with rising pH and acetate concentrations. Previous column tracer experiments revealed the occurrence of regionalized water transport in the column. Modeling these data was based on a non-electrostatic approach. Batch and column data modeling was based on the PHREEQC code that allows concomitant resolution of chemical speciation and regionalized water transport. The speciation calculation indicates that the ZnAcetate+ species is the dominant Zn species in the solutions used. Batch experimental curves are correctly modeled assuming the formation of the three surface species triple bond SiOZn+, triple bond SiOH-Zn Acetate+ and triple bond SiO-Zn(Acetate)2-. The column data could be adequately modeled assuming a two-region water transport and the formation of the same three species with the same thermodynamic constants determined in the batch experiments. The hypothesis of the modeling leads to a slight overestimation of the quantities of zinc eluted (10%) at pH 6 and 7, mostly in the desorption phase. These results show that the methodology used facilitates the correct modeling of both batch and transport experiments and formulation of the hypothesis on the interactions between the low reactive sand and a complex solution.     

Comment on “Analysis of groundwater contamination using concentration-time series recorded during an integral pumping test: Bias introduced by strong concentration gradients within the plume” by Allelign Zeru and Gerhard Schäfer

We consider the results of a recent paper in this journal [Zeru, A. and Schäfer, G., 2005. Analysis of groundwater contamination using concentration–time series recorded during an integral pumping test: Bias introduced by strong concentration gradients within the plume. Journal of Contaminant Hydrology 81 (2005) 106–124], which addresses the field-scale characterisation of contaminant plumes in groundwater. There, it is concluded that contaminant concentration gradients can bias Integral Pumping Test (IPT) interpretations considerably, in particular if IPTs are conducted in advective fronts of contaminant plumes. We discuss implications of this setting and also argue that the longitudinal and transverse dispersivities used in the examples of Zeru and Schäfer (2005) of up to 30 m and 3 m, respectively, are generally very high for the here relevant capture zone scale (< 20 m). However, regardless of both longitudinal and transverse concentration gradients, we further show through a counter-example that IPT results are unbiased as long as the concentration attenuation along the flow direction is linear over the capture zone extent.     

石墨炉原子吸收法测定自来水中总铬升温参数的探讨

对石墨炉原子吸收测定自来水中总铬的方法进行优化。通过对石墨炉升温程序条件进行优化,找出其最佳参数值,其方法的线性关系良好,相关系数为0.999以上,回收率在96.7%~99.5%之间。该法操作简便,灵敏度和准确度高,线性好,便于推广,适合自来水中总铬的测定。     

Nutritional benefits of filial cannibalism in three-spined sticklebacks (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Gasterosteus aculeatus</Emphasis>)

Although filial cannibalism (eating one’s own offspring) occurs in numerous species, including several teleost fishes, its adaptive value is still not well understood. One often-discussed explanation is that individuals enhance their mass and body condition by consuming part of their eggs. However, evidence for this assumption is scarce thus far. In this study, male three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus), a species with paternal care, were allowed to care for a batch of eggs or for an empty nest under food-deprived conditions. All brood-caring males cannibalised at least part of their eggs and thus preserved their initial mass and body condition. Furthermore, mass as well as body condition was significant positively correlated with the number of cannibalised eggs. In contrast, empty-nest males that had no possibility to cannibalise eggs significantly lost mass and body condition. This is, to our knowledge, the first experimentally documented evidence that mass as well as body condition were preserved by filial cannibalism.     

Hexabromocyclododecane and tetrabromobisphenol A in sediments and paddy soils from Liaohe River Basin, China: Levels, distribution and mass inventory

Hexabromocyclododecane(HBCD) and tetrabromobisphenol A(TBBPA) are two kinds of brominated flame retardants and widely present in the environment and biota. The levels,spatial distributions and mass inventories of HBCD and TBBPA were investigated in sediments and paddy soils from the Liaohe River Basin in northeast China. The concentrations of ΣHBCD and TBBPA were in the range of not detected(nd) to 4.02 ng/g dry weight(dw) and 0.03 to 4.06 ng/g dw, respectively. γ-HBCD was dominated in sediments,while the abundance of α-HBCD was relatively high in paddy soils. The spatial distributions of HBCD and TBBPA in surface sediments and paddy soils indicated that the local point-input was their major source. The significant correlation between total organic carbon(TOC) contents and the HBCD levels suggested that TOC content also exerted an influence on the distribution of HBCD in sediments. Meanwhile, it was found that the irrigation with river water was not the major transportation pathway of HBCD and TBBPA in paddy soils. Based on the study, it was estimated that there were about 1.67 tons HBCD and 2.20 tons TBBPA deposited into sediments of the Liaohe River system every year. The total mass inventories of HBCD and TBBPA in sediments were far higher than that in paddy soils.     

Effects of different endogenous fungi on the mass loss and nutrient content of leaf litter of Cunninghamia lanceolata北大核心CSCD

To explore the role of endophytic fungi in the decomposition of litter, the endophytic fungi Penicillium sp. strain CG2 (A), Fusarium flavum strain AY13 (B), and Talaromyces strain AJ14 (C) of Cunninghamia lanceolata were added to experimental pots in different forms (mycelium, sterilized fermentation broth, single fungus, and mixed fungi), and a control treatment (CK) was set up (no fungi added). At 10, 30, 60, 90, and 120 days after litter decomposition, a study on the decomposition dynamics of C. lanceolata litter under different treatments was performed. The results showed that the rate of leaf mass loss was the highest in the sterilized fermentation broth treatment A after 120 days, and that there was a significant difference (P < 0.05) between the mycelium treatment AC and the control treatment after 60 days (23.97% higher than the control group). On day 60, the litter carbon content from the mycelium treatment A was significantly different from that of the control (P < 0.05), showing a 16.74% lower value, whereas the litter carbon content of the mycelium treatment B was 21.13% lower than that of the control after 90 days. The nitrogen content of the litters of most mycelium and sterilized fermentation broth treatments was increased compared to that of the control group; there was significant difference (P < 0.05) between the sterilized fermentation broth treatment A and the control (P < 0.05), with a 17.05% higher value than that of the control. Similar to nitrogen, the litter phosphorus content also increased; there was a statistically significant difference between the mycelium treatment A and the control group, with treatment A showing a 46.67% higher value than the control group. The potassium content was 28% lower than that of the control group under the sterilized fermentation broth treatment C, a result that was significantly different from that of the control group (P < 0.05). After treatment for 90 days, the ratio of carbon to nitrogen was the lowest under the treatments with the mycelium A and the mycelium B, with values 25.54% and 25.11% lower than that of the control group, respectively, and a statistically significant difference from that of the control group (P < 0.05). The ratio of carbon to phosphorus was the lowest under the treatment with mycelium A after 60 days, and the result was significantly different from that of the control (P < 0.05), with a 43.05% lower value than the control. Thus, the three endophytic fungi had different effects on the mass loss rate and nutrient content of the litter. The Penicillium sp. strain CG2 (A) had statistically significant effects on the mass loss and nutrient content of leaf litter, which was within the range of fungi fertilizer reference values for the breeding of C. lanceolata. © 2018 Science Press. All rights reserved.     

Modelling above- and below-ground mass loss and N dynamics in wooden dowels (LIDET) placed across North and Central America biomes at the decadal time scale

This article focuses on modelling above and below-ground mass loss and nitrogen (N) dynamics based on the wooden dowels (Gonystylus bancanus [Miq.] Kurz) of the decadal Long-term Intersite Decomposition Experiment (LIDET) data. These dowels were placed at 27 locations across North and Central America, involving tropical, temperate and boreal forests, grasslands, wetlands and the tundra. The dowel, inserted vertically into the soil with one half remaining exposed to the air, revealed fast mass and N losses under warm to humid conditions, and slow losses under wet as well as cold to dry conditions. The model formulation, referred to as the Wood Decomposition Model, or WDM, related these losses to (i) mean annual precipitation, mean monthly January and July air temperatures, and (ii) mean annual actual evapotranspiration (AET) at each location. The resulting calibrations conformed well to the time-in-field averages for mass remaining by location: R² = 0.83 and 0.90 for the lower and upper parts, respectively. These values dropped, respectively, to 0.41 and 0.55 for the N concentrations, and to 0.28 and 0.43 for N remaining. These reductions likely refer to error propagation and to as yet unresolved variations in N transference into and out of the wood specific to each individual dowel location. Recalibrating the model parameters by ecosystem type reduced the R² values for actual versus best-fitted mass loss by about 0.15. Doing the same without location- or ecosystem-specific adjustments reduced the R² values further, by about 0.3.     

Flow analysis of major and trace elements in residues from large-scale sewage sludge incineration

Increase of sewage sludge (SS) has led to the construction of more incineration plants, exacerbating to the production of SS incineration residues. However, few studies have considered the mass balance of elements in large-scale SS incineration plants, affecting the residues treatment and utilization. In this study, flow analysis was conducted for major and trace elements in the SS, the fly ash (sewage sludge ash, SSA) and bottom ash from two large-scale SS incineration plants. The elemental characteristics were compared with those of coal fly ash (CFA), and air pollution control residues from municipal solid waste incineration (MSWIA), as well as related criteria. The results showed that the most abundant major element in SSA was Si, ranging from 120 to 240 g/kg, followed by Al (76–348 g/kg), Ca (26–113 g/kg), Fe (35–80 g/kg), and P (26–104 g/kg), and the trace elements were mainly Zn, Ba, Cu, and Mn. Not all the major elements were derived from SS. Most trace elements in the SS incineration residues accounted for 82.4%–127% of those from SS, indicating that SS was the main source of trace elements. The partitioning of heavy metals in the SS incineration residues showed that electrostatic precipitator ash or cyclone ash with high production rates were the major pollutant sinks. The differences in some major and trace elements could be indicators to differentiate SSA from CFA and MSWIA. Compared with related land criteria, the pollutants in SSA should not be ignored during disposal and utilization.     

微波消解-GFAAS法测定土壤中的总铅

研究了微波消解-GFAAS法测定土壤样品中总铅的方法。土壤样品加入HNO3+HF,经微波消解体系消解后,在恒温加热器上赶酸并除硅,石墨炉原子吸收光谱法(GFAAS)测定土壤样品中的总铅。测定数据经过与国标(GB/T 17141-1997)消解方法的比对,以及对不同土壤及土壤标准物质的测试。结果表明,两者无显著性差异,且此法重复性好,试剂用量少,安全易控制,结果可靠。