scholarly journals Neo- and Paleo-Limnological Studies on Diatom and Cladoceran Communities of Subsidence Ponds Affected by Mine Waters (S. Poland)

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 1581
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Pociecha ◽  
Agata Z. Wojtal ◽  
Ewa Szarek-Gwiazda ◽  
Anna Cieplok ◽  
Dariusz Ciszewski ◽  
...  

Plankton assemblages can be altered to different degrees by mining. Here, we test how diatoms and cladocerans in ponds along a river in southern Poland respond to the cessation of the long-term Pb-Zn mining. There are two groups of subsidence ponds in the river valley. One of them (DOWN) was contaminated over a period of mining, which ceased in 2009, whereas the other (UP) appeared after the mining had stopped. We used diatoms and cladocerans (complete organisms in plankton and their remains in sediments) to reveal the influence of environmental change on the structure and density of organisms. The water of UP pond was more contaminated by major ions (SO42−, Cl−) and nutrients (NO3−, PO43−) than the DOWN ponds. Inversely, concentrations of Zn, Cd, Cu and Pb were significantly higher in sediment cores of DOWN ponds in comparison to those in the UP pond. Ponds during mining had higher diversity of diatoms and cladocerans than the pond formed after the mining had stopped. CCA showed that diatom and cladoceran communities related most significantly to concentrations of Pb in sediment cores. Comparison of diatom and cladoceran communities in plankton and sediment suggests significant recovery of assemblages in recent years and reduction of the harmful effect of mine-originating heavy metals. Some features of ponds such as the rate of water exchange by river flow and the presence of water plants influenced plankton communities more than the content of dissolved heavy metals.

Author(s):  
Wen Liu ◽  
Long Ma ◽  
Yaoming Li ◽  
Jilili Abuduwaili ◽  
Salamat Abdyzhapar uulu

The water resources of Central Asia play an important role in maintaining the fragile balance of ecosystems and the sustainable development of human society. However, the lack of research on the heavy metals in river waters has a far−reaching influence on public health and the sustainable development in Central Asia. In order to reveal the possible sources of the heavy metals and to assess the associated human health risks, thirty−eight water samples were collected from the rivers of the Issyk−Kul Basin during the period with low river flow (May) and the period with high river flow (July and August), and the hydrochemical compositions and major ions of heavy metals were analyzed. No changes in hydrochemical facies were observed between the two periods and the river water type was calcium bicarbonate. Carbonate dissolution and silicate weathering controlled the variation of cations and anions in river waters from the Issyk−Kul Basin. There were some differences in the sources of heavy metals in water bodies between the two periods. During the period with low river flow, heavy metals (Cr) were closely clustered with major ions, indicating that they were mainly affected by water–rock interactions. During the period with high river flow, all heavy metals studied in this paper had different sources of major ions, and the heavy metals maybe influenced by human activities. From the human health risk assessment, the hazard quotients for all samples were less than 1, reflecting that there was no noncarcinogenic risk in the river waters of the Issyk−Kul Basin during the two sampling periods. However, the water samples with carcinogenic risk of arsenic exceeding the threshold (10−4) accounted for 21.1% of the total, indicating that there were some certain carcinogenic hazards for human health via water drinking with direct oral ingestion. The results are of certain significance for the utilization and protection of water resources in the basin as well as the protection of public health.


Author(s):  
Ioan Bud ◽  
◽  
Iosif Pasca ◽  
Simona Duma ◽  
◽  
...  

In the northern part of Romania, in the former mining perimeters there have been significant leakage of mine waters that have severely affected the environment. The paper presents the causes and consequences of these uncontrolled leaks loaded with heavy metals. Issues related to minimizing the long-term consequences of this serious phenomenon on the part of the authorities are highlighted.


Long-term experience of application of a method of electric heating by heating wires of the monolithic concrete and reinforced concrete structures erected in winter conditions is analyzed. This method, developed by the author of the article, took a dominant position on the construction sites due to the simplicity and efficiency in comparison with the mass applied in those years, the method of electric heating of concrete with steel round and strip electrodes. The data on labor intensity, material and energy costs in comparison with the method of rod electric heating are presented. Step-by-step technological operations on preparatory works and electric heating of monolithic structures with the use of extensive hands-on material, which formed the basis for the development of technological regulations, supplemented by a number of new proposals to improve the technology of works, are concretized. In order to work out the optimal mode of heat treatment, the studies of the concrete thermal conductivity factor in the process of its heating and strength development were carried out. The method for calculation of the basic parameters of concrete electric heating is presented. For simplification of calculations, for a wide contingent of masters, superintendents and technical personnel, the nomogram , making it possible with sufficient accuracy under the construction conditions to calculate the necessary heating parameters, was developed. The necessity of grounding the heating wire remaining in the concrete to reduce the harmful effect of magnetic radiation from various appliances and household appliances on the human body is noted.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Atanu Bhattacharya ◽  
Tobias Bolch ◽  
Kriti Mukherjee ◽  
Owen King ◽  
Brian Menounos ◽  
...  

AbstractKnowledge about the long-term response of High Mountain Asian glaciers to climatic variations is paramount because of their important role in sustaining Asian river flow. Here, a satellite-based time series of glacier mass balance for seven climatically different regions across High Mountain Asia since the 1960s shows that glacier mass loss rates have persistently increased at most sites. Regional glacier mass budgets ranged from −0.40 ± 0.07 m w.e.a−1 in Central and Northern Tien Shan to −0.06 ± 0.07 m w.e.a−1 in Eastern Pamir, with considerable temporal and spatial variability. Highest rates of mass loss occurred in Central Himalaya and Northern Tien Shan after 2015 and even in regions where glaciers were previously in balance with climate, such as Eastern Pamir, mass losses prevailed in recent years. An increase in summer temperature explains the long-term trend in mass loss and now appears to drive mass loss even in regions formerly sensitive to both temperature and precipitation.


Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 975
Author(s):  
Paweł Świsłowski ◽  
Zbigniew Ziembik ◽  
Małgorzata Rajfur

Mosses are one of the best bioindicators in the assessment of atmospheric aerosol pollution by heavy metals. Studies using mosses allow both short- and long-term air quality monitoring. The increasing contamination of the environment (including air) is causing a search for new, cheap and effective methods of monitoring its condition. Once such method is the use of mosses in active biomonitoring. The aim of the study was to assess the atmospheric aerosol pollution with selected heavy metals (Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, Hg and Pb) from the smoke of fireworks used during New Year’s Eve in the years 2019/2020 and 2020/2021. In studies a biomonitoring moss-bag method with moss Pleurozium schreberi (Willd. ex Brid.) Mitt. genus Pleurozium was used. The research was conducted in the town Prószków (5 km in south direction from Opole, opolskie voivodship, Poland). The moss was exposed 14 days before 31 December (from 17 to 30 of December), on New Year’s Eve (31 December and 1 January) and 2 weeks after the New Year (from 2–15 January). Higher concentrations of analysed elements were determined in samples exposed during New Year’s Eve. Increases in concentrations were demonstrated by analysis of the Relative Accumulation Factor (RAF). The results indicate that the use of fireworks during New Year’s Eve causes an increase in air pollution with heavy metals. In addition, it was shown that the COVID-19 induced restrictions during New Year’s Eve 2020 resulted in a reduction of heavy metal content in moss samples and thus in lower atmospheric aerosol pollution with these analytes. The study confirmed moss usefulness in monitoring of atmospheric aerosol pollution from point sources.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sofia Ribeiro ◽  
Audrey Limoges ◽  
Guillaume Massé ◽  
Kasper L. Johansen ◽  
William Colgan ◽  
...  

AbstractHigh Arctic ecosystems and Indigenous livelihoods are tightly linked and exposed to climate change, yet assessing their sensitivity requires a long-term perspective. Here, we assess the vulnerability of the North Water polynya, a unique seaice ecosystem that sustains the world’s northernmost Inuit communities and several keystone Arctic species. We reconstruct mid-to-late Holocene changes in sea ice, marine primary production, and little auk colony dynamics through multi-proxy analysis of marine and lake sediment cores. Our results suggest a productive ecosystem by 4400–4200 cal yrs b2k coincident with the arrival of the first humans in Greenland. Climate forcing during the late Holocene, leading to periods of polynya instability and marine productivity decline, is strikingly coeval with the human abandonment of Greenland from c. 2200–1200 cal yrs b2k. Our long-term perspective highlights the future decline of the North Water ecosystem, due to climate warming and changing sea-ice conditions, as an important climate change risk.


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