Hydrogen, carbon and sulphur isotope ratios in peat: the role of diagenessis and water regimes in reconstruction of past climates

We demonstrate that carbon, hydrogen and sulphur isotope ratios both, in the total peat (¹³C_tp=–25.52 to –28.27, D_tp=–78.67 and –109.24, ³⁴S=4.35 to 19.87), and in cellulose from the peat (¹³C_nc=–25.06 to –27.33 and D_nc=–92.43 to –118.02) are not affected by postdepositional changes. Therefore, the original isotope composition of plants are in general preserved in the peat and represent an archive of the past environmental variations. These can be supported by (i) good correlations between ¹³C_tp and ¹³C_nc, and between D_tp and D_nc, (ii) high horizontal homogeneity of ¹³C_tp and ¹³C_nc in the scale of one peat-bog – the same major factor(s) control(s) C isotopic ratios, (iii) no correlation between organic sulphur concentrations and ³⁴S value –³⁴S results from variations in the water level.This revised version was published online January 2005 with corrections to the title.     

大气环境中汞的形态及其分析方法

本文引用了近二十年来与大气环境中汞的形态和分析方法有关的２０多篇文章,对各种方法的优缺点进行了比较。     

Heavy metals in surface water and stream sediments in Jamaica

The levels of heavy metals in water and stream sediments in Jamaica are presented and compared to levels in soils and environmental standards. Heavy metals (cadmium, chromium, copper, mercury, nickel, lead and zinc) appear to be less of a problem to Jamaica's freshwater environment than might be expected given the concentrations in soils. This can be explained by taking into account the dynamics of the Jamaican water environment and the relative absence of anthropogenic sources. The dynamics of the freshwater system on the other hand, could pass any environmental threat to the coastal environment. Because the stream sediments are relatively coarse and contain little organic material the bio-availability of micropollutants such as heavy metals from the sediments can be expected to be relatively high.     

The emergence of stable isotopes in environmental and forensic geochemistry studies: a review

In the past decade, environmental forensics has emerged as a discipline directed toward determining parties liable for causing spills of contaminants into the environment. Such investigations, while geared toward determining the guilty parties in order to recover costs of the cleanup and remediation, require various questions to be addressed. These include determination of the nature of the product; Where did it come from?; Extent of weathering, if any; How long has it been there?; and Is it degrading naturally? Traditionally, these studies have been addressed through utilization of techniques such as gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GCMS). However, in recent years, stable isotopes, primarily determined through the use of combined gas chromatography–isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GCIRMS), have emerged as an equally important tool in environmental forensics. For relatively low molecular, volatile compounds such as MTBE, BTEX, or chlorinated solvents, the isotopes, primarily carbon and hydrogen, have been used extensively for evaluating the onset of natural attenuation. For larger molecules such as PCBs or PAHs, in which the effects of biodegradation on the isotope composition of these molecules is minimal, the isotopic fingerprints of the individual compounds can be used for correlation purposes. In this paper, a brief introduction to isotope geochemistry will be given, followed by a review of applications of stable isotopes to a variety of environmental problems. While the review may not necessarily be exhaustive, it will provide a comprehensive overview of areas where isotopes have been used and potential applications for the future. Most of the review is concerned with carbon and hydrogen isotopes, although a brief overview of the emerging area of chlorine isotopes will also be discussed.     

Factors affecting food chain transfer of mercury in the vicinity of the Nyanza Site,Sudbury River,Massachusetts

The influence of the Nyanza Chemical Waste Dump Superfund Site on the Sudbury River, Massachusetts, was assessed by analysis of sediment, fish prey organisms, and predator fish from four locations in the river system. Whitehall Reservoir is an impoundment upstream of the site, and Reservoir #2 is an impoundment downstream of the site. Cedar Street is a flowing reach upstream of the site, and Sherman Bridge is a flowing reach downstream of the site. Collections of material for analysis were made three times, in May, July, and October. Sediment was analyzed for acid-volatile sulfide (AVS), simultaneously-extracted (SEM) metals (As, Cd, Cr, Hg, Pb, Sb, Zn), and total recoverable Hg. The dominant predatory fish species collected at all sites, largemouth bass (Micropterussalmoides), was analyzed for the same suite of metals as sediment. Analysis of stomach contents of bass identified smallfish (yellow perch Perca flavescens, bluegill Lepomismacrochirus, and pumpkinseed Lepomis gibbosus), crayfish,and dragonfly larvae as the dominant prey organisms. Samples of the prey were collected from the same locations and at the sametimes as predator fish, and were analyzed for total and methyl mercury. Results of AVS and SEM analyses indicated that sediments were not toxic to aquatic invertebrates at any site. The SEM concentrations of As, Cd, and Cr were significantly higher at Reservoir #2 than at the reference sites, and SEM As and Cdwere significantly higher at Sherman Bridge than at Cedar St. Sediment total Hg was elevated only at Reservoir #2. Hg washigher at site-influenced locations in all fish speciesexcept brown bullhead (Ameiurus nebulosus). Cd washigher in bluegill, black crappie (Pomoxis nigromaculatus),and brown bullhead, and Cr was higher in largemouth bass filletsamples but not in whole-body samples. There were no seasonal differences in sediment or prey organism metals, but some metalsin some fish species did vary over time in an inconsistent manner. Predator fish Hg concentration was significantly linearlyrelated to weighted prey organism methyl Hg concentration. Largemouth bass Hg was significantly lower at Reservoir #2 in our study than in previous investigations in 1989 and 1990. High concentrations of inorganic Hg remain in river sediment asa result of operation of the Nyanza site, and fish Hg concentrations in river reaches downstream of the site areelevated compared to upstream reference sites. However, thedifferences are relatively small and Hg concentrations inlargemouth bass from the site-influenced locations are nohigher than those from some other, nearby uncontaminatedsites. We hypothesize that this results from burial ofcontaminated sediment with cleaner material, which reducesbioavailability of contaminants and possibly reducesmethylation of mercury.     

无汞开管法快速测定工业废水中的COD

采用无汞开管法测定 COD。方法使用硫酸 -磷酸介质、重铬酸钾氧化体系 ,以硫酸银作催化剂 ,其他试剂包括硝酸银和硫酸铬钾以排除氯离子的干扰。样品在玻璃试管中进行消化 ,用一台恒温器加热样品 ,反应温度 1 65℃ ,加热时间只需 1 0 min,消解后剩余的重铬酸盐用分光光度法或滴定法测定。试验结果表明 ,本法的检出限为 1 0 .9mg/ L,测定范围为 3 0～ 1 5 0 0 mg/ L。由于方法不使用剧毒的汞盐 ,也就避免了汞对环境的污染。应用本法测定了大批量工业废水样品 ,结果令人满意     

典型燃煤电厂汞的分布、迁移及释放特征研究

采集安徽不同地区两典型燃煤电厂火力发电中使用的原煤及其产生的3类固体副产物(飞灰,炉渣及脱硫石膏样品),对4类样品中汞含量分别进行测定,以此揭示电厂燃煤过程中汞的分布、迁移及转化规律。此外,采用质量平衡及二次排放模型分别初步估算了电厂燃煤及燃煤固体副产物再利用过程中汞的两次释放特征。结果显示,汞在原煤、飞灰、炉渣及脱硫石膏样品中的含量分别为174~321μg/kg、421~316μg/kg、6~3 143μg/kg和2 988~4 694μg/kg;燃煤过程中有20.9%~23.6%的汞转移到飞灰中,32.6%~59.9%的汞赋存于脱硫石膏中,16.5%~37.4%的汞通过烟囱首次排入大气,仅有0.02%~9.2%的汞残留在炉渣中。二次排放模拟结果显示,燃煤电厂1#和2#中飞灰和脱硫石膏的高温再利用过程将向大气二次释放汞量96.0 kg/a和165.8 kg/a,两次年排放总量分别为189.5 kg和640.8 kg。本研究可为燃煤电厂汞的污染过程控制提供参考依据。     

陕北黄土高原239+240Pu大气湿沉降历史重建

重建Pu同位素的大气沉降历史是开展Pu示踪应用以及核事故安全评价的重要基础。本研究根据东京年降水量和^239+240Pu年大气沉降数据,并结合经验模型对陕北黄土高原^239+240Pu年湿沉降通量进行初探。结果表明,1957~2005年间研究区^239+240Pu年湿沉降通量在0.000 2~4.116 7 Bq/m²之间,累计湿沉降通量为14.08 Bq/m²;通过与周边土壤剖面的Pu总量对比发现陕北黄土高原Pu同位素的干湿沉降比为1左右。在时间变化上,上世纪60年代初全球大规模核试验导致研究区1963年^239+240Pu湿沉降通量出现峰值,1964~2000年Pu湿沉降通量呈明显减小趋势,2001~2005年亚洲粉尘的地表再悬浮过程使得^239+240Pu年湿沉降通量有所增加。     

Geochronology and geochemistry of eclogites from the Mariánské Lázne Complex, Czech Republic: Implications for Variscan orogenesis

The Mariánské Lázn complex (MLC) is located in the Bohemian Massif along the north-western margin of the Teplá-Barrandian microplate and consists of metagabbro, amphibolite and eclogite, with subordinate amounts of serpentinite, felsic gneiss and calcsilicate rocks. The MLC is interpreted as a metaophiolite complex that marks the suture zone between the Saxothuringian rocks to the north-west and the Teplá-Barrandian microplate to the south-east. Sm-Nd geochronology of garnet-omphacite pairs from two eclogite samples yields ages of 377±7, and 367±4 Ma. Samples of eclogite and amphibolite do not define a whole rock Sm-Nd isochron, even though there is a large range in Sm/Nd ratio, implying that the suite of samples may not be cogenetic. Eclogites do not have correlated _Nd values and initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios. Five of the eight eclogite samples have high _Nd values (+10.2 to +7.1) consistent with derivation from a MORB-like source, but variable ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios (0.7033 to 0.7059) which probably reflect hydrothermal seawater alteration. Three other eclogite samples have lower _Nd values (+ 5.4 to –0.8) and widely variable ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios (0.7033 to 0.7096). Such low _Nd values are inconsistent with derivation from a MORB, source and may reflect a subduction or oceanic island basalt component in their source. The MLC is an important petrotectonic element in the Bohemian Massif, providing evidence for Cambro-Ordovician formation of oceanic crust and interaction with seawater, Late Devonian (Frasnian-Famennian) high- and medium-pressure metamorphism related to closure of a Saxothuringian ocean basin, Early Carboniferous (Viséan) thrusting of the Teplá terrane over Saxothuringian rocks and Late Viséan extension.     

100 years of high GEM concentration in the Central Italian Herbarium and Tropical Herbarium Studies Centre (Florence, Italy)

Up to 1980s, the most used preservative for herbaria specimens was HgCl₂, sublimating at ambient air conditions; ionic Hg then reduces to Hg⁰ (gaseous elemental mercury, GEM) and diffuses throughout poor ventilated environments. High GEM levels may indeed persist for decades, representing a health hazard. In this study, we present new GEM data from the Central Italian Herbarium and Tropical Herbarium Studies Centre of the University of Florence (Italy). These herbaria host one of the largest collection of plants in the world. Here, HgCl₂ was documented as plant preservative up to the 1920s. GEM surveys were conducted in July 2013 and July and December 2017, to account for temporal and seasonal variations.Herbaria show GEM concentrations well above those of external locations, with peak levels within specimen storage cabinets, exceeding 50,000?ng/m³. GEM concentrations up to ~ 7800?ng/m³ were observed where the most ancient collections are stored and no ventilation systems were active. On the contrary, lower GEM concentrations were observed at the first floor. Here, lower and more homogeneously distributed GEM concentrations were measured in 2017 than in 2013 since the air-conditioning system was updated in early 2017.GEM concentrations were similar to other herbaria worldwide and lower than Italian permissible exposure limit of 20,000?ng/m³ (8-hr working day). Our results indicate that after a century from the latest HgCl₂ treatment GEM concentrations are still high, i.e., the treatment itself is almost irreversible. Air conditioning and renewing is probably the less expensive and more effective method for GEM lowering.