Spatial distribution and ecological assessment of nickel in sediments of a typical small plateau lake from Yunnan Province,China

Nickel (Ni) in small plateau lake sediments plays an important role in influencing the quality of lake ecosystems with a high degree of endemism and toxicity. This paper focuses on the spatial distribution and ecological risks of nickel in the sediments of Jianhu Lake, a small plateau lake in China, and the influence of pH and total organic carbon (TOC) on nickel concentrations. The results showed that average total nickel concentrations were 138.99 ± 57.57 mg/kg (n = 38) and 184.31 ± 92.12 mg/kg (n = 60) in surface sediments (0–10 cm top layer) and sediment cores (0–75 cm depth), respectively, and that the residual fraction was the main form of nickel. Simultaneously, through a semivariogram model, strong spatial dependence among pH, TOC, and the oxidizable fraction was revealed, whereas total nickel, exchangeable and the weak acid soluble fraction, reducible fraction, and residual fraction showed moderate spatial dependence. The vertical distribution revealed that nickel accumulated mainly in the bottom 5 cm (70-75 cm) of the sediment layer and that the pH was higher there, whereas TOC was concentrated mainly in the top 5 cm of sediment. Using geoaccumulation and a potential ecological risk index, moderate nickel pollution and moderate risk levels were found in most surface sediments, but moderate nickel pollution and high risk levels were observed in most sediment cores. In addition, pH and TOC were found to have a strong effect on the distribution and concentration of nickel and its fractions in the small plateau lake. In summary, nickel posed a certain degree of pollution and ecological risk, which deserves attention in the sediments of small plateau lakes.

     

Abundance and distribution characteristics of microplastic in plateau cultivated land of Yunnan Province,China

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Microplastic pollution in cultivated soil has received increasing attention recently. There may be more serious microplastic abundance but little...     

Spatial distribution of heavy metals in rice grains and human health risk assessment in Hunan Province,China

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Rice is the main food in China, and its pollution by heavy metals has attracted widespread attention. In this study, rice grain samples were collected...     

Spatial distribution and seasonal variation of atmospheric bulk deposition of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in Beijing-Tianjin region, North China

Bulk deposition samples were collected in remote, rural village and urban areas of Beijing-Tianjin region, North China in spring, summer, fall and winter from 2007 to 2008. The annually averaged PAHs concentration and deposition flux were 11.81 ± 4.61 μg/g and 5.2 ± 3.89 μg/m²/day respectively. PHE and FLA had the highest deposition flux, accounting for 35.3% and 20.7% of total deposition flux, respectively. More exposure risk from deposition existed in the fall for the local inhabitants. In addition, the PAHs deposition flux in rural villages (3.91 μg/m²/day) and urban areas (8.28 μg/m²/day) was 3.8 and 9.1 times higher than in background area (0.82 μg/m²/day), respectively. This spatial variation of deposition fluxes of PAHs was related to the PAHs emission sources, local population density and air concentration of PAHs, and the PAHs emission sources alone can explain 36%, 49%, 21% and 30% of the spatial variation in spring, summer, fall and winter, respectively.     

Atmospheric DDTs over the North Pacific Ocean and the adjacent Arctic region: Spatial distribution,congener patterns and source implication

During the 2003 Chinese Arctic Research Expedition (CHINARE 2003) from Bohai Sea to the high Arctic (37°N–80°N), air samples were collected and analyzed for DDTs. ∑DDTs (sum of six congeners) ranged from 0.52 to 265 pg m^?3 with an average of 13.1 pg m^?3. Higher DDT concentrations were observed in Bohai Sea and near eastern Russia. The congener patterns were obviously different between the Far East Asia and the higher latitudinal regions that p,p'-DDT and o,p'-DDT were dominated in the former; while o,p'-DDT and o,p'-DDE were dominated in the latter. The source contributions of technical DDT and dicofol type DDT were estimated. Results showed that technical DDT was the dominant source (>94%) which was fresher in the Far East Asia compared to the North Pacific Ocean and the Arctic. For dicofol type DDT, the estimated contribution was minor. The “new” o,p'-DDT observed should have relatively more contribution from dicofol type DDT in the North Pacific Ocean and the Arctic.     

Comparison of retention and output of sulfur in limestone soil and yellow soil and their responses to acid deposition in a small karst catchment of Guizhou Province,Southwest China

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Investigating the responses of retention and output of sulfur (S) is significant to understand the impact of atmospheric S deposition on the S cycling...     

Spatial distribution and vertical variation of arsenic in Guangdong soil profiles, China

Total of 260 soil profiles were reported to investigate the arsenic spatial distribution and vertical variation in Guangdong province. The arsenic concentration followed an approximately lognormal distribution. The arsenic geometric mean concentration of 10.4 mg/kg is higher than that of China. An upper baseline concentration of 23.4 mg/kg was estimated for surface soils. The influence of soil properties on arsenic concentration was not important. Arsenic spatial distributions presented similar patterns that high arsenic concentration mainly located in limestone, and sandshale areas, indicating that soil arsenic distribution was dependent on bedrock properties than anthropogenic inputs. Moreover, from A- to C-horizon arsenic geometric mean concentrations had an increasing tendency of 10.4, 10.7 to 11.3 mg/kg. This vertical variation may be related to the lower soil organic matter and soil degradation and erosion. Consequently, the soil arsenic export into surface and groundwaters would reach 1040 t year-1 in the study area.     

Spatial distribution and vertical profile of polybrominated diphenyl ethers, tetrabromobisphenol A, and decabromodiphenylethane in river sediment from an industrialized region of South China

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA), and decabromodiphenylethane (DBDPE) were detected in fifteen surface sediments and two sediment cores collected from a river in one heavily industrialized region of South China. TBBPA and DBDPE were detected with concentrations ranging from 3.8 to 230 ng/g dw and from 23 to 430 ng/g dw, respectively. Σtri-hepta-BDEs and Σnona-deca-BDEs ranged from 0.7 to 7.6 ng/g dw and from 30 to 5700 ng/g dw, respectively. Σtri-hepta-BDEs showed an increasing trend whereas for Σnona-deca-BDE two sediment cores revealed a decreasing trend in more recent sediment layers which may attributed to the introduction of DBDPE. The rapid increasing trend for TBBPA and DBDPE in recent sediment layers well reflected the rising demand of these two compounds in study area.     

Iodine enrichment and the underlying mechanism in deep groundwater in the Cangzhou Region,North China

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The lack of information on the origin and behavior of iodine in deep groundwater restricts the development and use of groundwater resources. To...     

Analysis of a mesoscale infiltration and water seepage test in unsaturated fractured rock: Spatial variabilities and discrete fracture patterns

A mesoscale (21 m in flow distance) infiltration and seepage test was recently conducted in a deep, unsaturated fractured rock system at the crossover point of two underground tunnels. Water was released from a 3 mx4 m infiltration plot on the floor of an alcove in the upper tunnel, and seepage was collected from the ceiling of a niche in the lower tunnel. Significant temporal and (particularly) spatial variabilities were observed in both measured infiltration and seepage rates. To analyze the test results, a three-dimensional unsaturated flow model was used. A column-based scheme was developed to capture heterogeneous hydraulic properties reflected by these spatial variabilities observed. Fracture permeability and van Genuchten alpha parameter [van Genuchten, M.T., 1980. A closed-form equation for predicting the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 44, 892-898] were calibrated for each rock column in the upper and lower hydrogeologic units in the test bed. The calibrated fracture properties for the infiltration and seepage zone enabled a good match between simulated and measured (spatially varying) seepage rates. The numerical model was also able to capture the general trend of the highly transient seepage processes through a discrete fracture network. The calibrated properties and measured infiltration/seepage rates were further compared with mapped discrete fracture patterns at the top and bottom boundaries. The measured infiltration rates and calibrated fracture permeability of the upper unit were found to be partially controlled by the fracture patterns on the infiltration plot (as indicated by their positive correlations with fracture density). However, no correlation could be established between measured seepage rates and density of fractures mapped on the niche ceiling. This lack of correlation indicates the complexity of (preferential) unsaturated flow within the discrete fracture network. This also indicates that continuum-based modeling of unsaturated flow in fractured rock at mesoscale or a larger scale is not necessarily conditional explicitly on discrete fracture patterns.     

Integrating CVOR-GWLR-Circuit model into construction of ecological security pattern in Yunnan Province,China

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In the traditional construction of ecological security pattern, the minimum cost path is extracted as the ecological corridor based on the minimum...     

农村重力流灰水收集系统的恶臭气体时空分布规律

为探究农村重力流灰水收集系统的恶臭气体时空分布规律,构建了一套中试研究装置并研究了其全流程的恶臭气体质量浓度。结果表明：在相对静止的灰水储水池中,苯乙烯(C₈H₈)是质量浓度最高的恶臭气体(平均质量浓度为55.68 mg·m⁻³),二硫化碳(CS₂)的质量浓度最低(平均质量浓度为0.11 mg·m⁻³);灰水收集系统在早晨(6:00—8:00)和傍晚(17:00—19:00)的恶臭气体质量浓度较高,其OU平均值分别是其他时段OU平均质量浓度的1.82~23.7倍和1.87~24.41倍;灰水收集系统中的跌水井和管道变径处是恶臭气体质量浓度较高的区域,其OU平均值分别是其上下游区域OU平均值的1.2倍和1.6倍。在农村重力流灰水收集系统的运维过程中,应该关注C₈H₈和C₂SH₆等气体的浓度变化以更好的控制恶臭逸散问题。     

Atmospheric particle characterization, distribution, and deposition in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, Central China

Physical characterization and chemical analysis of settled dusts collected in Xi’an from November 2007 to December 2008 show that (1) dust deposition rates ranged from 14.6 to 350.4 g m⁻² yr⁻¹. The average deposition rate (76.7 g m⁻² yr⁻¹) ranks the 11th out of 56 dust deposition rates observed throughout the world. The coal-burning power was the major particle source; (2) on average (except site 4), ∼10% of the settled dusts having size <2.6, ∼30% having size <10.5, and >70% having size <30 μm; (3) the concentrations for 20 out of 27 elements analyzed were upto 18 times higher than their soil background values in China. With such high deposition rates of dusts that contain elevated levels of toxic elements, actions should be taken to reduce emission and studies are needed to assess the potential impacts of settled particles on surface ecosystem, water resource, and human health in the area.     

Short-term impact of reservoir impoundment on the patterns of mercury distribution in a subtropical aquatic ecosystem, Wujiang River, southwest China

Surveys on pre- and post-impoundment total mercury concentrations in water, seston and fish were conducted during 2007–2008 in the Wujiang River, southwest China. Compared with the pre-impoundment, total mercury in the reservoir and downstream water rapidly increased by 164–303 % during the first half year of flooding, and then decreased by 61.7–62.2 % after 9 months of flooding. However, total mercury in seston from the reservoir and downstream generally declined. There was no significant difference in the total mercury between reservoir fish with different habitat preference and feeding habit. We find that fish tissue mercury concentration significantly increased threefold after flooding, and the increasing rate is lower than those in subarctic and temperate reservoirs. The pre- and post-impoundment fish samples exceeding the Chinese hygienic standard for tolerances of mercury in foods increased from 1.3 to 17.4 %. Long-term monitoring of fish mercury level in Wujiang River should be undertaken to ensure local food security.     

Spatial and seasonal distribution of selected antibiotics in surface waters of the Pearl Rivers,China

The distribution and occurrence of 15 antibiotics in surface water of the Pearl River System (Liuxi River, Shijing River and Zhujiang River) and effluents of four wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) were investigated in two sampling events representing wet season and dry season by using rapid resolution liquid chromatography–electrospray tandem mass spectrometry (RRLC-MS/MS) in positive ionization mode. Only eight antibiotics (sulfadiazine, sulfapyridine, sulfamethazine, sulfamethoxazole, trimethoprim, roxithromycin, erythromycin-H₂O and norfloxacin) were detected in the water samples of the three rivers and the effluents. The detection frequencies and levels of antibiotics in the dry season were higher than those in the wet season. This could be attributed to the dilution effects in the wet season and relatively lower temperature in the dry season under which antibiotics could persist for a longer period. The levels of the detected antibiotics in different sites are generally in a decreasing order as follows: Shijing River ?WWTP effluent ?Zhujiang River ? Liuxi River. Risk assessment based on the calculated risk quotients showed that only erythromycin-H₂O and roxithromycin detected in the Pearl Rivers might have adverse effects on aquatic organisms.     

Spatial and seasonal distribution of selected antibiotics in surface waters of the Pearl Rivers, China

The distribution and occurrence of 15 antibiotics in surface water of the Pearl River System (Liuxi River, Shijing River and Zhujiang River) and effluents of four wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) were investigated in two sampling events representing wet season and dry season by using rapid resolution liquid chromatography-electrospray tandem mass spectrometry (RRLC-MS/MS) in positive ionization mode. Only eight antibiotics (sulfadiazine, sulfapyridine, sulfamethazine, sulfamethoxazole, trimethoprim, roxithromycin, erythromycin-H?O and norfloxacin) were detected in the water samples of the three rivers and the effluents. The detection frequencies and levels of antibiotics in the dry season were higher than those in the wet season. This could be attributed to the dilution effects in the wet season and relatively lower temperature in the dry season under which antibiotics could persist for a longer period. The levels of the detected antibiotics in different sites are generally in a decreasing order as follows: Shijing River ≥WWTP effluent ≥Zhujiang River ≥ Liuxi River. Risk assessment based on the calculated risk quotients showed that only erythromycin-H?O and roxithromycin detected in the Pearl Rivers might have adverse effects on aquatic organisms.     

红壤丘陵区典型小流域不同下垫面非点源磷输出特征

深入了解不同下垫面非点源污染物的输出特征是小流域综合治理的前提之一.以红壤丘陵地区的典型小流域为例,实地对比观测了降雨条件下林地、农业种植用地(园地和耕地)和建设用地(村镇道路和屋顶)的主要下垫面非点源磷污染物输出过程后发现,典型降雨事件中5种主要下垫面总磷(TP)的场降雨平均浓度为:耕地(0.75 mg.L-1)＞园...     

Spatial distribution and seasonal variation of char-EC and soot-EC in the atmosphere over China

A previous study on PM_2.5 carbonaceous aerosols measured with the thermal optical reflectance (TOR) method in fourteen Chinese cities is extended by subdividing total EC into char-EC and soot-EC. Average char-EC concentrations show great differences between the fourteen cities and between winter and summer periods, with concentrations of 8.67 and 2.41 μg m^?3 in winter and summer, respectively. Meanwhile spatial and seasonal soot-EC variations are small, with average concentrations of 1.26 and 1.21 μg m^?3 in winter and summer, respectively. Spatial and temporal distributions of char-EC, similar to EC, are mainly influenced by local fuel consumption, as well as the East Asian monsoon and some meteorological factors such as the mixing height and wet precipitation. The small spatial and seasonal variation of soot-EC is consistent with its regional-to-global dispersion, which may suggest that soot carbon is not local carbon, but regional carbon. Char-EC/soot-EC ratios show summer minimum and winter maximum in all cities, which is in good agreement with the difference in source contributions between the two periods. As OC/EC ratio is affected by the formation of the secondary organic aerosol (SOA), char-EC/soot-EC ratio is a more effective indicator for source identification of carbonaceous aerosol than previously used OC/EC ratio.     

Spatial distribution of hexazinone and metabolites in a luvisolic soil

Abstract

The spatial distribution of hexazinone and two primary metabolites were measured in forest soil for two years following the aerial application of a granular formulation, PRONONE 10G, in northern Alberta. Residues were quantified using solid‐phase extraction and capillary gas chromatography. Initial deposition rates of two hexazinone treatments averaged 2.3 ± 0.5 and 4.1 ± 0.8 kg/ha for each triplicated plots. One year after application, residues of hexazinone averaged 0.25 ± 0.09 and 0.40 ± 0.02 kg/ha in 2.3 and 4.1 kg/ha treatment, respectively, in the 0–10 cm surface soil; and were distributed vertically in soil depths of 0–10, 10–20, and 20–30 cm at ratios of 10:11:2 and 10:5:2, respectively, in 2.3 and 4.1 kg/ha treatment. Metabolites A and B amounted to 15 and 30% of hexazinone, respectively. Two years after application, the vertical movement of hexazinone in soil was quantifiable to the 40‐cm depth in both 2.3‐ and 4.1‐kg/ha treatment plots. Trace amounts of hexazinone were detected at 130 cm only in the 2.3‐kg/ha plot, which is likely due to the more freely downward movement of hexazinone to deeper horizons along decayed root channels.