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The risk element accumulation ability of two groups of epigeic species, insects from families Coleoptera and Hymenoptera (namely Formicidae), was determined and related to soil risk element content and bioaccessibility. The study was conducted in the district of Příbram, Czech Republic, which was characterised by extremely high aged pollution in the soils, including risk elements, especially As, Pb, Zn and Cd, due to the former mining and smelting activity. Four sampling sites differing in their pseudo-total risk element contents were selected and composite samples of individuals representing either Coleoptera or Formicidae were sampled at the individual sampling points. The results indicate the ability of Coleoptera and Formicidae organisms to accumulate risk elements, especially at the location with extremely high soil risk element content. In soil containing up to 841 mg As kg−1, 84.6 mg Cd kg−1, 4250 mg Pb kg−1 and 8542 mg Zn kg−1, contents in insect bodies reached 239 mg As kg−1 As, 24.2 mg Cd kg−1, 70.4 mg Pb kg−1 and 335 mg Zn kg−1 in beetles and up to 20.9 mg As kg−1, 29.9 mg Cd kg−1, 111 mg Pb kg−1 and 657 mg Zn kg−1 in ants. Therefore, bioaccumulation factors (BAFs) varied between 0.02 and 0.55. Increasing Cd content in Coleoptera bodies with increasing soil pseudo-total element content was observed only among the investigated elements. However, the results indicate increasing BAF values with decreasing soil element levels, especially for Cd, Pb and Zn, indicating limited uptake of elements by the organisms living in contact with extremely contaminated soil.

Acid mine drainage and metal loads from hardrock mines to surface waters is a significant problem in the western USA and many parts of the world. Mines often occur in mountain environments with fractured bedrock aquifers that serve as pathways for metals transport to streams. This study evaluates impacts from current and potential future groundwater metal (Cd, Cu, and Zn) loads from fractures underlying the Gilt Edge Mine, South Dakota, on concentrations in Strawberry Creek using existing flow and water quality data and simple mixing/dilution mass balance models. Results showed that metal loads from bedrock fractures to the creek currently contribute <1% of total loads. Even if background water quality is achieved upstream in Strawberry Creek, fracture metal loads would be <5%. Fracture loads could increase substantially and cause stream water quality standards exceedances once groundwater with elevated metals concentrations in the aquifer matrix migrates to the fractures and discharges to the stream. Potential future metal loads from an upstream fracture would contribute a small proportion of the total load relative to current loads in the stream. Cd has the highest stream concentrations relative to standards. Even if all stream water was treated to remove 90% of the Cd, the standard would still not be achieved. At a fracture farther downstream, the Cd standard can only be met if the upstream water is treated achieving a 90% reduction in Cd concentrations and the median stream flow is maintained.

The possibility of direct measurement of trace elements in hepatic cytosol of European chub (Squalius cephalus) by high-resolution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (HR ICP-MS) after cytosol dilution with Milli-Q water and subsequent acidification was investigated. Due to low detection limits of this procedure, determination of 13 elements (As, Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Mo, Pb, Sb, Sn, Sr, V and Zn) was possible in the chub hepatic cytosol, exhibiting excellent measurement repeatability in duplicates. Some of these elements were also measured by HR ICP-MS in acid digested cytosols (Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Mo, Sr, V and Zn). Good agreement of the results obtained after sample dilution and sample digestion indicated that complex organic matrix of hepatic cytosol did not affect measurement reliability. Cytosolic concentrations of 13 trace elements in the chub liver were quantified in the following order: Fe, Zn>Cu>Mn>Mo>Sr, V, Cd>Co>As, Pb>Sn>Sb. Unlike Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn for which the cytosolic concentrations were previously reported after measurement by AAS, cytosolic concentrations of eight additional trace elements characteristic for the liver of chubs inhabiting the low contaminated river water were reported here for the first time (in nanogrammes per gramme)—Mo, 136.8–183.6; Sr, 32.7–63.0; V, 17.5–69.0; Co, 24.3–30.7; As, 9.9–29.5; Pb, 5.8–35.6; Sn, 5.5–12.4; and Sb, 0.9–2.6. The simultaneous measurement of large number of trace elements in the cytosolic fractions of fish tissues, which comprise potentially metal-sensitive sub-cellular pools, could be beneficial as a screening tool in the monitoring of natural waters, because it would enable timely recognition of increased fish exposure to metals.

The shoreline is constantly under the influence of physical elements, such as geomorphological events, earthquakes, and tectonic movements. In recent years, it has been changing due to the intensive use of coasts and the impact of human factors on coastal areas. This study’s aim was to analyze the coastal change in the Gulf of Izmit, Turkey, using satellite images from different dates. In this context, coastal changes were analyzed in a 95% confidence interval by the end point rate (EPR), linear regression rate (LRR), and weighted linear regression (WLR) statistical methods, after the automatic extraction of shorelines from Landsat satellite images of 17 periods belonging to different dates between 1975 and 2017 in four different scenarios. Furthermore, the effects of the destructive earthquake (Mw, 7.4), which caused the loss of many lives and property in the Gulf of Izmit on August 17, 1999, were also examined in detail.

Các mô hình dựa trên dữ liệu khảo sát hóa học và các giả định địa hóa đã được hiệu chỉnh cho các khu vực có tỷ lệ axit hóa đã biết, sau đó được sử dụng để dự đoán sự giảm sút của độ kiềm và pH của các hồ ở miền Đông và miền Trung nước Mỹ. Những kết quả này được kết hợp với những tolerances axit đã biết của các nhóm phân loại khác nhau để ước tính mức độ thiệt hại do mưa acid gây ra cho các tập hợp sinh học. Trung bình hơn 50% các loài trong một số nhóm phân loại có khả năng đã bị loại bỏ khỏi các hồ ở khu vực Adirondacks, Poconos-Catskills và miền Nam New England. Thiệt hại mức độ vừa phải cho các cộng đồng sinh vật được dự đoán cho các hồ ở miền Trung New England và miền Bắc Wisconsin. Thiệt hại dự đoán ở Maine, miền Bắc Michigan, miền Đông Bắc Minnesota và phần còn lại của khu vực Hồ Lớn phía trên là nhẹ. Nhóm động vật giáp xác, động vật thân mềm, đỉa và côn trùng là những nhóm bị ảnh hưởng nặng nề nhất. Trong số các loài cá, các loài cá nhỏ (Cyprindae) đã giảm ở các khu vực bị axit hóa nặng, với một số sự giảm sút ở các loài cá hồi và cá centrarchid. Thiệt hại dự đoán cho từng hồ ở tất cả các vùng là rất khác nhau. Ở những khu vực nhận lượng axit cao, 100% các loài trong các nhóm phân loại nhạy cảm với axit đã bị loại bỏ ở một số hồ, trong khi thiệt hại đối với các hồ khác được dự đoán chỉ nhẹ. Thiệt hại ước tính khác nhau từ hồ này sang hồ khác trong mỗi tiểu vùng, dựa trên các đặc tính hóa học. Các hồ bị thiệt hại nặng nhất ở Adirondacks và Pocono-Catskills có thể đã mất tất cả các loài động vật thân mềm, đỉa và giáp xác. Ngược lại, các hồ ở miền Trung Tây cho thấy sự tăng hoặc giảm nhẹ về độ phong phú của các cộng đồng sinh vật được dự đoán. Các phạm vi khả dĩ về nồng độ sulfate ban đầu trong các hồ và tỷ lệ axit sulfuric trong lượng mưa giải phóng các cation bazơ từ các vùng lưu vực đã bị giới hạn trong những giới hạn tương đối hẹp bởi mô hình.

Since the 1960s, rapid urbanization has caused serious deterioration in the quantity and quality of instream flows in South Korea. As demands for healthy instream ecology, landscape, and water-friendly environments have increased, the government has revised the relevant legal codes. In 2017, the environmental flow, defined as the minimum flow to conserve the health of aquatic ecosystems, has been endorsed in the Water Environment Conservation Act. However, owing to the lack of established criteria for the selection of target sites, the implementation of environmental flow is still in its early stage. This study suggests a simple flowchart to identify the preferential target sites for environmental flow estimation. First, deterioration in the health of aquatic ecosystems is identified by comparing the monitored Fish Assessment Index (FAI) with the standard suggested by the Ministry of Environment. Thereafter, the conditions of discharge and water quality of the instream flows are assessed. In the discharge analysis, linear regression is used for three flow metrics to analyze the interannual variability of discharge. Discharge deficiency is evaluated by comparing the drought flow (Q355) and the 10% mean annual flow. The load duration curve (LDC) is used in the water quality analysis. A case study is conducted for the Bokha-cheon Stream to test the flowchart, followed by a nationwide application. From the results, more than 70 sites have been identified as target sites for the estimation of the environmental flow in the five major river basins of Korea.

For the first time the concentration of trace metals (Fe, Pb, Cu, Zn, Cd and total Hg) of sediments from the coastal zone of the Beagle Channel (Tierra del Fuego, in Southern Argentina) were measured. Atomic absorption spectrophotometry was utilized in order to determine the metal contents. The level of metals as observed in the sediments was recognized as the natural background, even though the use of normalization of lead, copper, and zinc to iron allowed the identification of the main sources of metal pollution for this environment. In order to develop future environmental monitoring programmes for the area of Ushuaia city and the Beagle Channel, the present results need to be considered.

The environmental mobility and geochemical partitioning of ten metals were examined in sediments collected from the six locations around Lake Skadar in Montenegro. A three-step sequential extraction procedure was used to determine the distribution of the metals in various substrates of lacustrine sediments, and the concentrations were measured in the liquid extract by ICP-OES. The largest portion of the total amount of cadmium, strontium and manganese can be found in sediment bound to the hydrated iron and manganese oxides; cobalt, lead, copper and nickel in the oxidizable fraction and the highest portion of chromium, vanadium and zinc are in the residual fraction. The most mobilized and potentially mobile metals are strontium, cadmium and cobalt while the most immobilized metals are chromium, vanadium and zinc. Based on geochemical parameters, an assessment of sediment contamination by the investigated metals was performed and the results showed potential risks ranging from “no risk” to “low risk” to the environment.

A new method for the optimal design of groundwater quality monitoring networks is introduced in this paper. Various indicator parameters were considered simultaneously and tested for the Irapuato-Valle aquifer in Mexico. The steps followed in the design were (1) establishment of the monitoring network objectives, (2) definition of a groundwater quality conceptual model for the study area, (3) selection of the parameters to be sampled, and (4) selection of a monitoring network by choosing the well positions that minimize the estimate error variance of the selected indicator parameters. Equal weight for each parameter was given to most of the aquifer positions and a higher weight to priority zones. The objective for the monitoring network in the specific application was to obtain a general reconnaissance of the water quality, including water types, water origin, and first indications of contamination. Water quality indicator parameters were chosen in accordance with this objective, and for the selection of the optimal monitoring sites, it was sought to obtain a low-uncertainty estimate of these parameters for the entire aquifer and with more certainty in priority zones. The optimal monitoring network was selected using a combination of geostatistical methods, a Kalman filter and a heuristic optimization method. Results show that when monitoring the 69 locations with higher priority order (the optimal monitoring network), the joint average standard error in the study area for all the groundwater quality parameters was approximately 90 % of the obtained with the 140 available sampling locations (the set of pilot wells). This demonstrates that an optimal design can help to reduce monitoring costs, by avoiding redundancy in data acquisition.