东湖沉积物重金属来源与人类活动相关性分析

城市化和工业化进程给城市湖泊带来了很高的重金属污染负荷。为研究湖泊重金属污染的来源以及人类活动对湖泊重金属污染的影响,以武汉郭郑湖为例,测定了沉积物中几种常见痕量重金属元素Co、Cr、Pb、Cu、Zn、Ni的含量,并采用地累积指数法和归一化法对重金属污染物的污染程度和污染来源进行了分析。研究结果表明,溢流排污口处沉积物重金属污染程度较高,Zn、Cu和Pb的污染程度高于Co、Cr、Ni,为湖泊主要污染物。归一化法分析表明:Zn、Pb、Cu之间呈显著相关,均以人类活动输入为主要来源。在溢流排污口处Ni和Cr受人类活动影响较轻微,Co以自然来源为主;在湖心处Ni、Cr、Co均以自然来源为主。以上结果表明,对郭郑湖的治理应以Zn、Pb、Cu为主。     

土壤反硝化田间原位测定方法的研究进展

土壤中的反硝化作用由于直接影响到肥料氮的利用率和环境问题,仍然是氮素研究领域的热点和难点之一,而反硝化作用研究的进展在很大程度上依赖与土壤反硝化的田间测定方法的建立。文章就目前反硝化研究领域常用的15N平衡差值法、15N示踪气体通量法、乙炔抑制气室法、乙炔抑制土柱法的原理、气体样的采集、测定和计算作了综述,以期为土壤反硝化的研究提供依据。     

Historical trends of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans in three dated sediment cores from Mexico

This paper describes the first report of dioxins and furans (PCDDs/Fs) in sediment cores from Mexico. Sedimentation rates and vertical fluxes were estimated using ²¹⁰Pb dating. Two cores correspond to marine sediments and one to an endorheic lake. Concentrations of PCDDs/Fs found in the three sites are typical of non-impacted areas with low concentrations when compared to reference values. However the PCDDs/Fs sediment profiles show an increasing concentration trend in the upper core sections. This behavior is different from that found at many sites around the globe where diminishing concentrations have been reported. A strong predominance of OCDD was observed, and a comparison to typical composition profiles of industrial and other sources did not result in clear origin assignments for these measured compounds. We suggest that local sources may be responsible for the increase in concentration and, because these undetermined sources have not been curtailed, their importance is still growing.     

Using stable lead isotopes to trace heavy metal contamination sources in sediments of Xiangjiang and Lishui Rivers in China

Lead isotopes and heavy metal concentrations were measured in two sediment cores sampled in estuaries of Xiangjiang and Lishui Rivers in Hunan province, China. The presence of anthropogenic contribution was observed in both sediments, especially in Xiangjiang sediment. In the Xiangjiang sediment, the lower ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁷Pb and higher ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁶Pb ratio, than natural Pb isotope signature (1.198 and 2.075 for ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁷Pb and ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁶Pb, respectively), indicated a significant input of non-indigenous Pb with low ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁷Pb and high ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁶Pb. The corresponding concentrations of heavy metals (As, Cd, Zn, Mn and Pb) were much higher than natural values, suggesting the contaminations of heavy metals from extensive ore-mining activities in the region.     

Temporal trends of hydrocarbons in sediment cores from the Pearl River Estuary and the northern South China Sea

Concentrations and fluxes of unresolved complex mixture of hydrocarbons (UCM) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were analyzed for two ²¹⁰Pb dated sediment cores from the Pearl River Estuary (PRE) and the adjacent northern South China Sea (NSCS). Compound-specific stable carbon isotopic compositions of individual n-alkanes were also measured for identification of the hydrocarbon sources. The historical records of PAHs in the NSCS reflected the economic development in the Pearl River Delta during the 20th century. PAHs in the NSCS predominantly derive from combustion of coal and biomass, whereas PAHs in the PRE are a mixture of petrogenic and pyrogenic in origins. The isotopic profiles reveal that the petrogenic hydrocarbons in the PRE originate predominantly from local spillage/leakage of lube oil and crude oils. The accumulation rates of pyrogenic PAHs have significantly increased, whereas UCM accumulation has slightly declined in the NSCS in the recent three decades.     

Local to regional emission sources affecting mercury fluxes to New York lakes

Lake-sediment records across the Northern Hemisphere show increases in atmospheric deposition of anthropogenic mercury (Hg) over the last 150 years. Most of the previous studies have examined remote lakes affected by the global atmospheric Hg reservoir. In this study, we present Hg flux records from lakes in an urban/suburban setting of central New York affected also by local and regional emissions. Sediment cores were collected from the Otisco and Skaneateles lakes from the Finger Lakes region, Cross Lake, a hypereutrophic lake on the Seneca River, and Glacial Lake, a small seepage lake with a watershed that corresponds with the lake area. Sediment accumulation rates and dates were established by ²¹⁰Pb. The pre-anthropogenic regional atmospheric Hg flux was estimated to be 3.0 μg m⁻² yr⁻¹ from Glacial Lake, which receives exclusively direct atmospheric deposition. Mercury fluxes peaked during 1971–2001, and were 3 to more than 30 times greater than pre-industrial deposition. Land use change and urbanization in the Otisco and Cross watersheds during the last century likely enhanced sediment loads and Hg fluxes to the lakes. Skaneateles and Glacial lakes have low sediment accumulation rates, and thus are excellent indicators for atmospheric Hg deposition. In these lakes, we found strong correlations with emission records for the Great Lakes region that markedly increased in the early 1900s, and peaked during WWII and in the early 1970s. Declines in modern Hg fluxes are generally evident in the core records. However, the decrease in sediment Hg flux at Glacial Lake was interrupted and has increased since the early 1990s probably due to the operation of new local emission sources. Assuming the global Hg reservoir tripled since the pre-industrial period, the contribution of local and regional emission sources to central New York lakes was estimated to about 80% of the total atmospheric Hg deposition.     

Sedimentary Record of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in the Gulf of Trieste (Northern Adriatic Sea)

To reconstruct a history of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) pollution in the Gulf of Trieste, one of the largest urbanized areas in the Adriatic Sea, we analyzed three long sediment cores collected between 1996 and 1997. Concentrations of total PAHs, the sum of 16 PAH compounds and six of their methylated analogues, in all three cores show a decrease from 600–800 ng g⁻¹, at the surface, to levels below 250 ng g⁻¹ in deepest layers (down to 3 m). The same trend was shown with separate representative pyrogenic PAHs (pyrene, benzofluoranthene and phenanthrene). Using Hg as a recent geochronological tracer, we observe an increasing input of PAHs since the beginning of the 20th Century and, especially, after the Second World War coinciding with increasing industrialization and urbanization of the region. This correlation is supported by PAH ratios that are indication of combustion processes and represent a marker for anthropogenic inputs. No correlation exists between PAHs and black carbon within the core profiles, indicating two different fractions of the ‘black carbon continuum’.     

Source Apportionment and Identification of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Sediment Cores of Selected Creeks in Delta State,Nigeria

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) seasonal variation and sources in Ubeji, Ifie, and Egbokodo Creeks of the Niger Delta, Nigeria, were predicted using diagnostic ratios (DRs) of parent PAHs (Phe/Phe + Ant; Flu/Flu + Pyr; BaA/BaA + Chry, and Ind/Ind + BghiP) and principal component analysis (PCA). A total of 222 sediment core samples were collected during the wet (August 2010) and the dry seasons (January 2011). The samples were dried and Soxhlet extracted; sample extracts were fractionated and analyzed by gas chromatography/flame ionization detection (GC/FID) to identify individual PAHs. The diagnostic PAH ratios revealed that PAHs in the sediment cores at the three creeks, in both seasons, mainly stemmed from the combustion process (pyrogenic sources). Principal component analysis further confirmed that wood-burning, coal combustion, diesel, gasoline-powered vehicular emissions, and petroleum combustion were the dominant contributors of PAHs sources at the sampling location. This study provided information on the origin and sources of PAHs in sediment cores, which may be useful for regulatory actions, environmental quality management, contamination history, and environmental forensic studies.     

Assessing the fate of radioactive nickel in cultivated soil cores

Parameters regarding fate of ⁶³Ni in the soil–plant system (soil: solution distribution coefficient, K_d and soil plant concentration ratio, CR) are mostly determined in controlled pot experiments or from simple models involving a limited set of soil parameters. However, as migration of pollutants in soil is strongly linked to the water migration, variation of soil structure in the field and seasonal variation of evapotranspiration will affect these two parameters. The aim of this work was to explore to what extent the downward transfer of ⁶³Ni and its uptake by plants from surface-contaminated undisturbed soil cores under cultivation can be explained by isotopic dilution of this radionuclide in the pool of stable Ni of soils. Undisturbed soil cores (50 cm × 50 cm) were sampled from a brown rendzina (Rendzic Leptosol), a colluvial brown soil (Fluvic Cambisol) and an acidic brown soil (Dystric Cambisol) using PVC lysimeter tubes (three lysimeters sampled per soil type). Each core was equipped with a leachate collector. Cores were placed in a greenhouse and maize (DEA, Pioneer^®) was sown. After 44 days, an irrigation was simulated at the core surfaces to supply 10 000 Bq ⁶³NiCl₂. Maize was harvested 135 days after ⁶³Ni input and radioactivity determined in both vegetal and water samples. Effective uptake of ⁶³Ni by maize was calculated for leaves and kernels. Water drainage and leaching of ⁶³Ni were monitored over the course of the experiment. Values of K_d in surface soil samples were calculated from measured parameters of isotopic exchange kinetics. Results confirmed that ⁶³Ni was strongly retained at the soil surface. Prediction of the ⁶³Ni downward transfer could not be reliably assessed using the K_d values, since the soil structure, which controls local water fluxes, also affected both water and Ni transport. In terms of ⁶³Ni plant uptake, the effective uptake in undisturbed soil cores is controlled by isotope dilution as previously shown at the pot experiment scale.     

Catastrophic Decline in Mollusc Diversity in Eastern Tasmania and Its Concurrence with Shellfish Fisheries

Abstract:  We used historical patterns of deposition of mollusc shells to infer changes to inshore benthic assemblages in the southeastern Tasmanian region over the past 120 years. We identified and counted shells in slices embedded within 1m long ²¹⁰Pb-dated sediment cores were collected at 13 sites in water depths of 8–16 m. Declines in mollusc species richness and shell production occurred during the past century at all sites studied, with a mean decline per 5-cm sediment slice from 21 species in 1890 to 7 species in 1990 and in shell abundance from 150 to 30 individuals over the same period. The time course of decline notably corresponded with the history of the scallop dredge fishery, presumably either because scallop dredging caused general declines in populations of mollusc species or because other factors caused a catastrophic regional decline in molluscs that included scallops. As a consequence, the fishery was forced to close. Of major concern is that losses had not previously been recognized but extended throughout the 100-km coastal span of the study. Given that fishing and other anthropogenic impacts, as well as a lack of observational data, are virtually ubiquitous for the coastal zone, major recent losses in mollusc biodiversity may be globally widespread but have gone unnoticed.