Geochemistry on sediments in Lake Biwa

Thirty sediment cores (30-40 cm in length), 47 Ekman dredge sediments, and Mn concretions were collected from Lake Biwa. The concentrations of 36 elements in the samples were determined by instrumental neutron activation, X-ray fluorescence, atomic absorption, and colorimetric analyses. The elements determined included Mn, P, As, Sb, Fe, Ni, Co, Zn, Cu, Pb, Hg, Cr, Ti, Na, K, Rb, Cs, Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba, Sc, Hf, La, Ce, Sm, Eu, Yb, Lu, U, Th, Au, Ta, Nd, Br and N. Based on statistical considerations and calculation of the concentration factors of the elements, the features of the elemental distribution in Lake Biwa sediment were determined. The main results are summarized as follows : (1) Concentrations of Mn and As were very high in the uppermost oxidized layer of the offshore sediment and Mn concretions. This resulted from the dissolution-deposition cycles of these elements within the sedimentary column and the bottom water. The fixation of As at the sediment surface is mainly attributed to the adsorption of arsenate onto Mn (II) -rich hydrous Mn (IV) oxide. (2) There were high concentrations of Zn, Cu, Pb and Hg in the recent sediments. Although the source of these elements is attributed to human activities, the individual distributions of Zn and Cu in the sediment may result from the deposition of metal-rich planktonic debris and subsequent degradation of the debris. (3) The orders of increasing concentrations of alkali metals and lanthanides in the sediment from the central region compared with the nearshore pediment were identical to the orders of increasing atomic numbers from Na to Cs and from La to Lu, respectively.

Determinación de nitratos en vegetales : comparación de cuatro métodos analíticos

Para la cuantificación de nitratos hay numerosas técnicas y no existe entre los analistas unanimidad en la selección de la más adecuada. Por tal motivo, se compararon cuatro métodos para la determinación de nitratos en muestras vegetales con el fin de evaluar la correlación entre los mismos y establecer pautas para su utilización. Se utilizaron 690 muestras de lechuga (Lactuca sativa L. var. capitata), pertenecientes a los tipos arrepollado y mantecoso, recolectadas a lo largo de un año en el Mercado Cooperativo de Guaymallén (Mendoza, Argentina). Según los tenores de nitratos encontrados en la población estudiada se efectuó un sub-muestreo aleatorio estratificado proporcional para lograr un número de muestras que representaran la variabilidad del total de la población. Se utilizaron cuatro métodos para la determinación de nitratos: 1. destilación por arrastre con vapor, considerado como método de referencia 2. colorimetría por nitración con ácido salicílico 3. colorimetría modificada 4. potenciometría con electrodo selectivo Se probaron diferentes modelos de regresión entre el método de referencia y los otros tres, siendo el lineal el que mejor se ajustó en todos los casos. Los métodos estudiados tuvieron comportamiento semejante. La mayor correlación (r2 = 93 %) se observó entre la destilación por arrastre con vapor y la potenciometría; no obstante, los restantes también presentaron alta correlación. Consecuentemente, la elección del procedimiento analítico dependerá principalmente del número de muestras a analizar, del tiempo requerido por el análisis y del costo del mismo.

Desarrollo de una nueva técnica de base colorimétrica para una rápida evaluación de la biodegradabilidad de materiales poliméricos

Resumen: La necesidad de reducir el impacto ambiental causado por el uso de plásticos sintéticos obtenidos a partir de fuentes no-renovables ha motivado el desarrollo de nuevos materiales con carácter biodegradable. Sin embargo, los protocolos internacionales comúnmente utilizados para evaluar la biodegradabilidad de un material son laboriosos y suelen demandar elevados tiempos de procesamiento. En este trabajo, se presentan resultados preliminares obtenidos durante la etapa de desarrollo y puesta a punto de un método rápido, sencillo y eficiente para evaluar el potencial biodegradable de un material plástico, formulado a base de proteínas del lactosuero, utilizando un ensayo colorimétrico indirecto basado en la reducción enzimática de sales de tetrazolio durante el metabolismo aeróbico bacteriano.

Un método fotocolorimétrico para la determinación de alcohol en vinos

Se describe un método fotocolorimétrico para la determinación de alcohol en vinos basado en la medida del cambio de color que sufre el bicromato de potasio durante la oxidación de esa sustancia orgánica. El frasco de reacción descripto permite efectuar la destilación del alcohol en la medida directa del color sin necesidad de verter el líquido reactivo a otro recipiente. El anhídrido sulfuroso no tiene influencia apreciable en los resultados obtenidos, y no se hace necesaria la neutralización previa de la muestra. Como es de esperar, tampoco el ácido acético influye en las determinaciones. El método ofrece una precisión considerable y esta circunstancia, unida a la sencillez de las manipulaciones, lo hacen aconsejable en diversos casos.

Petrology and geochemistry at DSDP Site 59-448

This chemical and petrologic study of rocks from Site 448 on the Palau-Kyushu Ridge is designed to answer some fundamental questions concerning the volcanic origin of remnant island arcs. According to the reconstruction of the Western Pacific prior to about 45 m.y. ago (Hilde et al., 1977), the site of the Palau-Kyushu Ridge was a major transform fault. From a synthesis of existing geological and geophysical data (R. Scott et al., this volume), it appears that the ridge originated by subduction of the Pacific plate under the West Philippine Basin. Thus the Palau-Kyushu Ridge should be a prime example of both initial volcanism of an incipient arc formed by interaction of oceanic lithospheric plates and remnant-arc volcanic evolution. The Palau-Kyushu Ridge was an active island arc from about 42 to 30 m.y. ago, after which initiation of back-arc spreading formed the Parece Vela Basin (R. Scott et al., this volume; Karig, 1975a). This spreading left the western portion of the ridge as a remnant arc that separates the West Philippine Basin from the Parece Vela Basin. In spite of numerous oceanographic expeditions to the Philippine Sea, including the two previous DSDP Legs 6 and 31 (Fischer, Heezen et al., 1971; Karig, Ingle et al., 1975), and even though the origins of inter-arc basins have been linked by various hypotheses to that of remnant island arcs (Karig, 1971, 1972, 1975a, and 1975b; Gill, 1976; Uyeda and Ben-Avraham, 1972; Hilde et al., 1977), very little hard data are available on inactive remnant arcs.

Sulphur and iron species in Dvurechenskii mud volcano sediments

The deep Black Sea is known to be depleted in electron-acceptors for sulphide oxidation. This study on depth distributions of sulphur species (S(II), S(0),S(n)**2-,S2O3**2-,SO3**2-,SO4**2-) in the Dvurechenskii mud volcano, a cold seep situated in the permanently anoxic eastern Black Sea basin (Sorokin Trough, 2060 m water depth), showed remarkable concentrations of sulphide oxidation products. Sulphite concentrations of up to 11 µmol L**1-, thiosulphate concentrations of up to 22 µmol L**1-, zero-valent sulphur concentrations of up to 150 µmol L**1- and up to five polysulphide species were measured in the upper 20 cm of the sediment. Electron-acceptors found to be available in the Dvurechenskii mud volcano (DMV) for the oxidation of hydrogen sulphide to sulphide oxidation intermediates are iron-minerals, and probably also reactive manganese phases. Up to 60 µmol g**1- of reactive iron-minerals and up to 170 µmol L**1- dissolved iron was present in the central summit with the highest fluid upflow and fresh mud outflow. Thus, the source for the oxidative power in the DMV are reactive iron phases extruded with the mud from an ancient source in the deeply buried sediments, leading to the formation of various sulphur intermediates in comparably high concentrations. Another possible source of sulphide oxidation intermediates in DMV sediments could be the formation of zero-valent sulphur by sulphate dependent anaerobic microbial oxidation of methane followed by disproportionation of zero-valent sulphur. Sulphide oxidation intermediates, which are produced by these processes, do not reach thermodynamic equilibrium with rhombic sulphur, especially close to the active center of the DMV due to a short equilibration time. Thus, mud volcano sediments, such as in the DMV, can provide oxidizing niches even in a highly reduced environment like the abyssal part of the Black Sea.

(Table 1) Color, Fe-C-S chemistry and carbonate content from ODP Sites 172-1062 and 172-1063

Reflectance spectra collected during ODP Leg 172 were used in concert with solid phase iron chemistry, carbonate content, and organic carbon content measurements to evaluate the agents responsible for setting the color in sediments. Factor analysis has proved a valuable and rapid technique to detect the local and regional primary factors that influence sediment color. On the western North Atlantic drifts, sediment color is the result of primary mineralogy as well as diagenetic changes. Sediment lightness is controlled by the carbonate content while the hue is primarily due to the presence of hematite and Fe2+/Fe3+ changes in clay minerals. Hematite, most likely derived from the Permo-Carboniferous red beds of the Canadian Maritimes, is differentially preserved at various sites due to differences in reductive diagenesis and dilution by other sedimentary components. Various intensities for diagenesis result from changes in organic carbon content, sedimentation rates, and H2S production via anaerobic methane oxidation. Iron monosulfides occur extensively at all high sedimentation sites especially in glacial periods suggesting increased high terrigenous flux and/or increased reactive iron flux in glacials.