Past and future perspectives upon landscape instability in Cumbria, northwest England

Geomorphic and lacustrine evidence is used to identify phases of landscape instability in Cumbria, northwest England, British Isles. The temporal and spatial pattern of erosion is used alongside palaeovegetation data from across the region to elucidate the causes of landscape instability in the late Holocene. The lines of evidence include changes in sediment accumulation rate and provenance within the region’s lakes; the hillslope alluvial fan and gully incision record; the lowland fluvial geomorphic record; and pollen analytical data for the late Holocene vegetation history. The sediment supply driven hillslope and lacustrine records suggest that only the 1,200–800 BP and post 600–500 BP erosion episodes were both catchment-wide and directly affected upland hillslopes, with the earlier phases after 5,200 and 3,000–1,600 BP on a lower scale and more restricted spatially. These episodes coincide with major expansions or changes in anthropogenic activity during Neolithic, Iron Age and Romano-British, Norse and late Medieval times. The projected future trajectories of changes in both climate (UKCIP scenarios) and landuse (CAP reform and ESA status) appear unlikely to increase landscape instability, although a shift to greater incidence of storms and high magnitude flood events clearly could. The past shows that the largest increases in erosion and sediment movement occur in the wake of major intensifications in land pressure that primarily affect previously wooded or protected hillslopes, circumstances that land management strategists should mitigate against.     

Heavy metals in top core sediments from the southern Campania shelf (Italy): Hints to define large-scale geochemical backgrounds

The results of a geochemical survey carried out on the southern Campania shelf (southern Italy) are illustrated, offering a tempting opportunity to discuss the statement and definition of regional geochemical backgrounds for selected heavy metals. A total of 104 top core sediments, collected on average 1.5 km from one another and covering a shelf area of about 1300 km², were analysed for grain size, organic carbon content (OC), and heavy-metal (As, Al, Fe, Cd, V, Cr, Zn, Cu, Ni, Hg, and Pb) concentrations. The characteristics of the area, scarcely influenced by industrial activities, and the extensive data set, make this study suitable for an appropriate multivariate and spatial geostatistical methodologies used for i) a reliable definition of large-scale marine sediments' geochemical backgrounds and ii) an accurate discrimination of different geological controls on trace-element distribution patterns. Enrichment factors estimated with respect to both the average shale composition and the weighted average metal concentrations measured in inland soils rule out significant anthropogenic inputs. A spatial-geostatistics approach (kriging of spatial component based on an accurate implementation of variographic surveying) was applied, and this is proposed as an appropriate quantitative methodology to define the geochemical backgrounds for the different heavy metals. Two nested spatial structures were identified for some of the heavy metals, thus allowing clear identification of local and regional geochemical controls related to the different spatial variability of grain size.     

Radionuclides in the Ecosystem of Lake Tygish in the Zone of the Eastern Ural Radioactive Trace

The radioecological situation in Lake Tygish is described. The lake is situated on the central axis of the Eastern Ural Radioactive Trace (EURT), which was formed after the nuclear accident in the Southern Urals in 1957. The distributions of ⁹⁰Sr and ¹³⁷Cs among the main components of the water body and the results of the measurement of tritium concentration in the water are presented. Mathematical models are described that have made it possible to estimate changes in the concentrations of radionuclides and their amounts accumulated in the water and bottom sediments of the lake during the long period after the accident and to predict the development of the radioecological situation in the lake until 2057. Based on the mathematical models, more accurate data on the initial ecological situation in the lake in the year of the accident have been obtained.     

Geochemical forms of trace metals in mangrove sediments—Red Sea (Egypt)

Seven sediment samples from mangrove sediments of the Red Sea were taken in order to evaluate the possible contamination of the sediments by trace metals (iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd)). Sequential extraction techniques were performed to study the different geochemical forms of these metals. X-ray diffraction analysis has been performed to correlate the mineralogical composition with the geochemical forms of the studied elements. The results of Fe and Mn contents indicate that they are in large part from lithogenous origin. The elevated concentrations are associated with the residual form ranged from 70 to 93% for Fe and 46 to 70% for Mn. The percentage of Zn, Cu, Cd and Pb in the non-residual form was much greater than that of the residual fractions. This reflects the high mobility and bioavailability of these metals in mangrove sediments of the Red Sea. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed the presence of silicate components including quartz, feldspars and clay minerals in some locality. Non-silicate components recorded in the study area as calcite as well as, Mg-calcite. Quantitatively both components i.e. silicate and carbonate varied according to their source material.     

Using urban man-made ponds to reconstruct a 150-year history of air pollution in northwest England

A regional pollution history has been reconstructed for the borough of Halton (northwest England) from four urban ponds in north Cheshire and south Merseyside, using environmental analyses of lake sediment stratigraphies. Mineral magnetism, geochemistry and radiometric dating have produced profiles of pollution characteristics dating from the mid-nineteenth century to present day. These pollution profiles reflect the atmospheric deposition of a range of pollutants over 150 years of intensified industry. Distinct phases of pollution deposition and characteristics are identified reflecting: (1) intensification of industry in the nineteenth century; (2) expansion of industry during the twentieth century; (3) post 1956 Clean Air Acts. This work promotes the potential use of these pollution archives for use in epidemiology to better understand links between human health and environmental pollution, especially for diseases with long latency times, where retrospective pollution exposure assessments are important.     

海州湾表层沉积物中氮的赋存形态及其生态意义

于2014年10月在海州湾采集表层沉积物,利用分级浸取分离的方法,对其中的离子交换态氮(IEF-N)、弱酸可浸取态氮(WAEF-N)、强碱可浸取态氮(SAEF-N)及强氧化剂可浸取态氮(SOEF-N)4种可转化态氮(TTN)的含量进行了分析测定,结合沉积物的有机质含量(TOC)、粒度分布,讨论了各形态氮的生态意义.结果表明:IEF-N、WAEF-N、SAEF-N、SOEF-N、非转化态氮(NTN)、总氮(TN)的平均含量分别为12.63、5.78、8.93、85.32、568.93和681.59 mg·kg-1;各形态氮在TTN中所占的比例大小顺序为SOEF-N(75.73%)IEF-N(11.21%)SAEF-N(7.93%)WAEF-N(5.13%).研究还表明,沉积物中TN与TOC和粒径具有显著的相关性(p0.01);WAEF-N与TOC具有显著的相关性(p0.01),与粒径也具有显著相关性(p0.05),其他形态氮与TOC、粒度分布均有一定程度的相关关系;各形态氮与水体中的溶解态无机氮(DIN)、叶绿素a具有相关性,说明沉积物中的氮对海洋生态环境有着重要意义.     

河湖底泥污染物释放影响因素及底泥处理的研究进展

结合国内外的研究,对温度、pH值、溶解氧等环境因素影响污染物释放的机制进行了综述。其中,温度的升高会促进底泥中氮磷的释放;随着溶解氧含量的增多,污染物越发不易释放;但pH值对底泥中的氮磷以及重金属的释放影响规律则各有不同。此外,结合国内外工程案例及试验研究,对污染底泥的治理技术进行了总结,分析了物理、化学和生物处理方法的利弊。联合处理方法则综合了多种方法的优点,具有良好的应用前景。     

N-TiO_2/RGO催化剂的制备及其光催化性能的研究

以三乙胺为氮源,HF为形貌控制剂,采用水热法一步合成了N掺杂(001)面锐钛矿TiO_2纳米片/还原氧化石墨烯(N-Ti O2/RGO)复合催化剂,通过XRD、FTIR、SEM、TEM和Raman对样品的组成结构和形貌进行表征。以罗丹明B(Rh B)为模拟污染物,研究了不同掺N量和氧化石墨烯加入量下制备的复合材料的光催化性能。实验结果表明:当n(N)∶n(Ti)为0.5,氧化石墨烯加入量为15 m L时,N-TiO)2/RGO复合材料的光催化性能最好。在催化剂用量为0.5 g/L,罗丹明B溶液初始浓度为20 mg/L时,紫外光催化反应30 min后,罗丹明B的降解率可达94.02%。     

典型城市浅水湖泊沉积物磷原位物理化学控制技术

沉积物磷是受污染的典型城市浅水湖泊中重要的内源磷来源,关于沉积物控制技术的研究近年来受到广泛重视。针对沉积物磷原位处理技术,将其按原位物理技术和原位化学技术两方面进行了分类,并总结了各个类别中各技术的作用特点和研究进展,并对原位处理技术的未来发展进行了展望。     

Particle size distribution and characteristics of heavy metals in road-deposited sediments from Beijing Olympic Park

Due to rapid urbanization and industrialization, heavy metals in road-deposited sediments (RDSs) of parks are emitted into the terrestrial, atmospheric, and water environment, and have a severe impact on residents' and tourists' health. To identify the distribution and characteristic of heavy metals in RDS and to assess the road environmental quality in Chinese parks, samples were collected from Beijing Olympic Park in the present study. The results indicated that particles with small grain size (< 150 μm) were the dominant fraction. The length of dry period was one of the main factors affecting the particle size distribution, as indicated by the variation of size fraction with the increase of dry days. The amount of heavy metal (i.e., Cu, Zn, Pb and Cd) content was the largest in particles with small size (< 150 μm) among all samples. Specifically, the percentage of Cu, Zn, Pb and Cd in these particles was 74.7%, 55.5%, 56.6% and 71.3%, respectively. Heavy metals adsorbed in sediments may mainly be contributed by road traffic emissions. The contamination levels of Pb and Cd were higher than Cu and Zn on the basis of the mean heavy metal contents. Specifically, the geoaccumulation index (I_geo) decreased in the order: Cd > Pb > Cu > Zn. This study analyzed the mobility of heavy metals in sediments using partial sequential extraction with the Tessier procedure. The results revealed that the apparent mobility and potential metal bioavailability of heavy metals in the sediments, based on the exchangeable and carbonate fractions, decreased in the order: Cd > Zn ≈ Pb > Cu.