Marginal bleaching of thalli of Rhizocarpon as evidence for acid rain in the Norra Storfjället, Sweden

Recent lichen surveys in the foreland of The Syterb?cken glacier reveal that the crustose lichens, principally species of Rhizocarpon section Rhizocarpon, exhibit marginal bleaching, readily distinguishable from normal pigmented forms. The largest elliptical thallus of Rhizocarpon measured 290 mm maximum diameter on a bedrock outcrop beyond the margin of Little Ice Age moraines in the upper Syterb?cken Valley. Many small and large thalli of Rhizocarpon suffered damage to the periphery of individual thalli. We examine here some of the possible hypotheses explaining these occurrences. Among others, these are bedrock lithology, ice crystal blasting, long-term snowbank cover, ultraviolet exposure and acid rain. While at this time none of the possibilities can be ruled out entirely, acid rain would appear to be at least one of the factors involved. Acid rain, which is known to produce a soil pH as low as 3.3 in the field area, appears to provide a high input of H(+) ions that the lichen algal component cannot withstand. However, the lack of similar effects on associated foliose or fruticose forms raises the possibility that perhaps two or more factors specific to the environment of Rhizocarpon are operating.     

Fractionation of Cu, Pb and Zn in certified reference soils SRM 2710 and SRM 2711 using the optimized BCR sequential extraction procedure

Sequential extraction of metals from solid media is a common analytical tool used in environmental and exploration geochemistry. A number of procedures exist, but without harmonization and standardization, meaningful comparisons are tenuous without baseline data. A newly developed, standardized sequential extraction procedure (optimized BCR) was applied to two contaminated certified reference soils from Montana, US (SRM 2710 and SRM 2711) for Cu, Pb and Zn. Four operationally defined fractions were isolated, acid extractable, reducible, oxidizable, and residual (by aqua regia). Fraction-specific concentrations, percentages and recoveries for Cu, Pb and Zn were used to explore differences between the optimized BCR procedure and three other sequential extraction schemes with published data for SRM 2710 and 2711 (i.e. Tessier scheme, Geological Survey of Canada scheme and the original BCR scheme). Results indicate significant differences between the four schemes, even for schemes that are closely associated (i.e. the original and optimized BCR schemes). Order-of-magnitude fraction-specific concentration differences were observed, especially for Pb in the reducible fraction. Differences between schemes are worrisome because trends varied between metals, between fractions and between reference soils. These data reinforce the need for increased adoption of standardized sequential extraction procedures and further examination of different solid media.