Assessing microbial degradation of o-xylene at field-scale from the reduction in mass flow rate combined with compound-specific isotope analyses

In recent years, natural attenuation (NA) has evolved into a possible remediation alternative, especially in the case of BTEX spills. In order to be approved by the regulators, biodegradation needs to be demonstrated which requires efficient site investigation and monitoring tools. Three methods--the Integral Groundwater Investigation method, the compound-specific isotope analysis (CSIA) and a newly developed combination of both--were used in this work to quantify at field scale the biodegradation of o-xylene at a former gasworks site which is heavily contaminated with BTEX and PAHs. First, the Integral Groundwater Investigation method [Schwarz, R., Ptak, T., Holder, T., Teutsch, G., 1998. Groundwater risk assessment at contaminated sites: a new investigation approach. In: Herbert, M. and Kovar, K. (Editors), GQ'98 Groundwater Quality: Remediation and Protection. IAHS Publication 250, pp. 68-71; COH 4 (2000) 170] was applied, which allows the determination of mass flow rates of o-xylene by integral pumping tests. Concentration time series obtained during pumping at two wells were used to calculate inversely contaminant mass flow rates at the two control planes that are defined by the diameter of the maximum isochrone. A reactive transport model was used within a Monte Carlo approach to identify biodegradation as the dominant process for reduction in the contaminant mass flow rate between the two consecutive control planes. Secondly, compound-specific carbon isotope analyses of o-xylene were performed on the basis of point-scale samples from the same two wells. The Rayleigh equation was used to quantify the degree of biodegradation that occurred between the wells. Thirdly, a combination of the Integral Groundwater Investigation method and the compound-specific isotope analysis was developed and applied. It comprises isotope measurements during the integral pumping tests and the evaluation of delta13C time series by an inversion algorithm to obtain spatially integrated mean isotope values at the control planes. It was shown that the Rayleigh equation is applicable to spatially integrated mean isotope values in order to obtain the mean biodegradation between the consecutive control planes. All three approaches yielded consistently a 98-99% degradation of o-xylene.     

Characterizing the source/sink behavior of double-layer building materials

A model is developed to predict the rate of mass transfer between a double-layer material and indoor air. The model allows non-uniform initial material-phase concentrations in each of the two layers and a transient influent gas-phase concentration to be considered. This model builds on a recently validated single-layer model and should prove useful in predicting the behavior of double-layer material assemblies. Many indoor furnishings and building structures are comprised of layers of different material. The approach taken here represents a first step in the development of a more generally applicable multi-layer model. An analytical solution to the double-layer model is obtained and a parametric analysis is performed illustrating the behavior of the model as a function of the primary model parameters. The paper concludes by examining the potential use of thin diffusion barriers to reduce material emission rates and a hypothetical example of emissions from an adhesive that is part of an adhesive/material assembly.     

Effect of pH on Pb biouptake by the freshwater alga<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Chlorella kesslerii</Emphasis>

The effect of pH on Pb bioaccumulation by Chlorella kesslerii was studied. Both Pb uptake fluxes and Pb bound to membrane transport sites increased with an increase in pH from 4.0–5.0, were relatively stable in the pH interval 5.0–6.5, and increased again at pH 7.0 and 8.0. Protons affected Pb adsorption to the algal surface by competing directly for surface sites, by modifying the overall algal surface charge and by modifying the chemical speciation of Pb in solution. These results indicate a failure of the free-ion activity or biotic ligand models above pH 6.5, possibly due to the bioaccumulation of hydroxo or carbonato Pb complexes.     

阿拉善沙漠高原降水化学特征与离子来源判别

为查明我国北方沙漠地区降水化学组成及来源,在阿拉善沙漠高原阿右旗气象站采集了2013—2015年的降水样品,测定了降水pH、EC（电导率）及主要离子当量浓度.结果表明:阿拉善沙漠阿右旗气象站降水pH和EC的范围分别为6.66~8.05和35~1 237 μS/cm;Ca2+、SO₄2-、Na+和Cl-为降水中的主要离子,其总和占总离子的85%以上.降水pH、EC和主要离子当量浓度是反映空气质量的基本参数,较高的降水pH反映出当地降水具有明显的碱性特征.与其他地区相比,该地区降水的EC和可溶性离子日均湿沉降通量也较高,且随月份有较大的变化,表明干旱沙漠粉尘对当地降水水化学的贡献较大.根据离子来源相对贡献的计算结果发现,降水中92.8%的SO₄2-和98%的NO₃-来自人为源,98.8%的Ca2+和88.7%的K+为陆地来源,55%的Mg2+为海洋源,24.8%的Na+来自矿物风化,极少部分Cl-为人为源.研究显示:除降水中的NH₄+外,其他主要离子之间的相关性表明各种成因物质在风力作用下同时进入了大气;基于[NH₄+]（NH₄+的当量浓度）与[K+]（K+的当量浓度）相关性分析,降水中的NH₄+来自生物质燃烧、肥料使用、动物粪便等.      

Application of chemometric analysis based on physicochemical and chromatographic data for the differentiation origin of plant protection products containing chlorpyrifos

The aim of this study was to investigate the similarities and dissimilarities between the pesticide samples in form of emulsifiable concentrates (EC) formulation containing chlorpyrifos as active ingredient coming from different sources (i.e., shops and wholesales) and also belonging to various series. The results obtained by the Headspace Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry method and also some selected physicochemical properties of examined pesticides including pH, density, stability, active ingredient and water content in pesticides tested were compared using two chemometric methods. Applicability of simple cluster analysis and also principal component analysis of obtained data in differentiation of examined plant protection products coming from different sources was confirmed. It would be advantageous in the routine control of originality and also in the detection of counterfeit pesticides, respectively, among commercially available pesticides containing chlorpyrifos as an active ingredient.     

Reframing Ecotage as Ecoterrorism: News and the Discourse of Fear

This study examines how certain Western institutional discourses reproduce particular human relationships with nature. The analysis focuses upon the institutional setting of the zoo, examining long-standing multi-voiced debates about zoos and exploring the contemporary zoo's conservation discourses and cultural, lexical, and spatial elements of gaze and power. The author contextualizes zoo discourses within Western ideological environmental dialectics, including those of Mastery–Harmony, Othering–Connection, and Exploitation–Idealism. The author relates these discussions to her empirical observations of how certain discursive themes are reproduced and complicated within a leading American zoo. In the tradition of critical research that advocates for social change, the essay concludes with analysis-driven discussion about possibilities for zoos to transform their core configurations to more progressively work as agents for systemic cultural and environmental change.     

GC × GC--A New Analytical Tool For Environmental Forensics

Comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography, GC 2 GC, is a new analytical tool with a tremendous capability to separate and identify organic compounds in complex environmental samples. GC 2 GC uses two different chromatography columns coupled serially by a modulator to produce a volatility by polarity separation and distribute compound peaks across a two-dimensional retention time plane. The two-dimensional separation produces an order of magnitude more resolved peaks than traditional GC methods. The grouping or ordering of the peaks in the GC 2 GC chromatogram facilitates the identification of unknown compounds and the comparison of complex environmental samples. When a mass spectrometer detector is used, each resolved GC 2 GC peak yields a single-component, interference-free mass spectrum that leads to accurate matching with mass spectral libraries. GC 2 GC examination of marine sediment extracts identified a wide variety of chemical contaminants including polychlorinated biphenyls, p -nonylphenol isomers, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, benzotriazoles, and the alkane, cycloalkane, alkylbenzene, alkylnaphthalene, and biomarker fractions of petroleum. The two-dimensional GC 2 GC chromatogram image permits rapid screening of the sediment extracts for these and other unknown contaminants.     

龙川江楚雄站碳侵蚀通量的动态分析

选取龙川江楚雄水文站进行了为期3年的采样,分析了水体中各形式碳的含量,并估算各碳的输送通量.结果表明:楚雄站3年的碳通量(FTC)分别为27.12×106g·km-2·a-1、24.87×106g·km-2·a-1和10.34×106g·km-2·a-1,分析流域在对碳输送过程中,以输送无机碳为主,分别占输送总量的89.7%、90.3%及91.9%;而汛期碳输送量分别占全年总量的90.9%、84.9%和83.8%,表现出流域汛期对碳的搬运量远远高于非汛期;溶解性有机碳通量(FDOC)与颗粒有机碳通量(FPO C)平均比为0.82,不同季节表现情况不一,非汛期溶解性有机碳(DOC)与颗粒有机碳(POC)含量相当,汛期机械侵蚀作用增强,导致FPO C远远大于FDOC,反映汛期对流域侵蚀作用以机械剥蚀为主,化学侵蚀为辅.研究期内恰遇2008年一场洪水,11月碳的侵蚀通量为8.53×106g·km-2·a-1,其中溶解性无机碳(DIC)、溶解性有机碳(DOC)和颗粒有机碳(POC)的输送量分别为7.37×106、0.36×106、0.80×106g·km-2·a-1,分别占2008年全年相应形式碳总量的33.3%、34.4%和59.9%,为当年非汛期碳侵蚀总量的2.3倍,反映洪水期的碳输出量对流域碳输出总量及构成存在不可忽略的贡献.     

太湖内源营养盐负荷状况及其对上覆水水质的影响

以太湖沉积物-上覆水界面为研究对象,于2013年夏季采集46个样点的沉积物柱状样,分析表层沉积物孔隙水中营养盐(正磷酸盐、氨氮、硝氮)的浓度空间分布,估算表层沉积物中磷、氮的扩散通量,明确营养盐在沉积物-水界面的分布规律,以探明内源营养盐负荷对太湖上覆水的污染贡献,并为沉积物-水界面氮磷的转移过程理论补充证据.结果表明:太湖西北部区域的表层沉积物孔隙水中正磷酸盐和硝氮浓度较高,分别达到1.11 mg·L~(-1)和1.25 mg·L~(-1)以上;大部分湖区的氨氮浓度超过2 mg·L~(-1).全湖区范围内,从表层沉积物的上覆水到孔隙水,氨氮含量呈现升高趋势而硝氮含量呈现降低趋势.北部3个湖湾区的沉积物营养盐扩散通量最高,正磷酸盐为2.69~4.60 mg·m~(-2)·d~~(-1),氨氮为17.8~45.7 mg·m-2·d~(-1),而湖岸河口区是沉积物硝氮内源释放显著的区域.沉积物向上覆水释放正磷酸盐和氨氮的年内源污染负荷分别为64.6 t·a~(-1)和1756 t·a~(-1);而上覆水向沉积物汇入硝氮的年负荷为1102 t·a~(-1).氨氮的内源污染负荷与外源污染负荷之比高达18.7%,氨氮、总磷和总氮内源污染为上覆水贡献的浓度分别为0.361、0.013和0.134 mg·L~(-1),表明自由扩散带来的内源负荷会使太湖水中营养盐污染恶化,需引起重视.