Major, minor and trace-elemental contents analysis in northeast soybeans by ICP-AES

Major, minor and trace elemental contents in northeast China soybeans were determined by using inductively, coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). Three different sample digestion methods including two wet digestions, HNO3-HClO4 and HNO3-H2SO4 and a dry ash method were compared. Owing to the high oil content in soybeans, long time is needed and access acid should be added, with mixed acid digestion methods, which may result in higher sample blank. Therefore, the dry ask method would be more proper for the pre-treatment of soybean samples. Potassium and phosphorus are major elements in soybeans, so the effect of potassium and phosphorus on the other elements was investigated. Results showed that the potassium and phosphorus did not affect the determination. of other trace elements. There are not significant differences in trace elemental contents for the eleven northeast China soybeans.

Assessment of calcareous alga Corallina pilulifera as elemental provider

Calcareous algae such as Corallina pilulifera a Postels et Ruprecht can be one of the most potential candidates to be used in biological carbon dioxide assimilation to reduce greenhouse effect because of its calcification capacity as well as photosynthesis if utilized extensively and properly. The major elemental composition in C. pilulifera is as follows: sodium 0.13%, chloride 1.75%, magnesium 4.37%, calcium 18.4%, iron 0.31%, and carbonate 28.5%. Calcareous algae can be used as elemental provider for livestock or agriculture. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

One century record of contamination by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and polychlorinated biphenyls in core sediments from the southern Yellow Sea

Sixteen polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and 28 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were measured at a 2-cm interval in a core sample from the middle of the southern Yellow Sea for elucidating their historical variations in inflow and sources. The chronology was obtained using the Pb-210 method. PAHs concentrations decreased generally with depth and two climax values occurred in 14-16 cm and 20-22 cm layers, demonstrating that the production and usage of PAHs might reach peaks in the periods of 1956-1962 and 1938-1944. The booming economy and the navy battles of the Second World War might explain why the higher levels were detected in the two layers. The result of principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that PAHs were primarily owing to the combustion product. Down-cored variation of PCB concentrations was complex. Higher concentrations besides the two peaks being the same as PAHs were detected from 4 to 8 cm, depositing from 1980 to 1992, which probably resulted from the disposal of the out-dated PCB-containing equipment. The average Cl percentage of PCBs detected was similar to that of the mixture of Aroclor 1254 and 1242, suggesting they might origin from the dielectrical and heat-transfer fluid. The total organic carbon (TOC) content played a prevalent role in the adsorption of high molecular weight PAHs (>= 4-ring), while no obvious relationship among total PCBs, the concentration of congeners, and TOC was found.

Elemental carbon record of paleofire history on the Chinese Loess Plateau during the last 420 ka and its response to environmental and climate changes

An elemental carbon (EC) record, covering the last 420 ka, was reconstructed using chemical oxidation method on a loess and paleosol sequence from the Lingtai section on the Chinese Loess Plateau. The EC record reveals the paleofire history and its relationship with climate and vegetation changes on the Chinese Loess Plateau. Our results show that the EC abundance is generally higher in the paleosols than in the loess layers, showing a glacial/interglacial pattern, which is coincident with biomass changes. This variation pattern indicates that paleofires were intensified when biomass accumulated and climate changed abruptly especially from wet to dry conditions. The EC abundance increases sharply at similar to 130 kaB.P., indicating a dramatic change in the vegetation and climate variation patterns. The occurrence of a peak value with the highest average EC abundance in the Holocene may reflect the occurrence of a major climate event at similar to 6 kaB.P., and may also be partly due to more frequent anthropogenic fire usages. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Assessment of metal contamination in surface sediments of Jiaozhou Bay, Qingdao, China

An assessment of metal contamination in surface sediments of the Jiaozhou Bay, Qingdao, one of the rapidly developing coastal economic zones in China, is provided. Sediments were collected from 10 stations and a total of 15 heavy metals were analyzed. Concentrations of metals show significant variability and range from 210 to 620 ppm for Ti, 2.7 to 23 ppm for Ni, 4.2 to 28 ppm for Cu, 5.2 to 18 ppm for Pb, 12 to 58 ppm for Zn, 0.03 to 0.11 ppm for Cd, 5 to 51 ppm for Cr, 1.5 to 9.9 ppm for Co, 5.3 to 19 ppm for As, 12 to 32 ppm for Se, and 19 to 97 ppm for Sr. Based on concentration relationships and enrichment factor (EF) analyses, the results indicate that sediment grain size and organic matter played important roles in controlling the distribution of the heavy metals in surface sediments of the Jiaozhou Bay. The study shows that the sediment of the Jiaozhou Bay has been contaminated by heavy metals to various degrees, with prominent arsenic contributing the most to the contamination. The analysis suggests that the major sources of metal contamination in the Jiaozhou Bay are land-based anthropogenic ones, such as discharge of industrial waste water and municipal sewage and run-off. Notably, the elevated heavy metal concentrations of the Jiaozhou Bay sediments could have a significant impact on the bay's ecosystem. With the rapid economic development and urbanization around the Jiaozhou Bay, coastal management and pollution control should focus on these contaminant sources, as well as provide ongoing monitoring studies of heavy metal contamination within the bay.

青岛晚白垩世岩石圈结构特征：劈石口晚白垩世基性脉岩及其捕虏体提供的证据

The occurrence of Late Cretaceous mafic dykes and their entrained peridotite and granulite xenoliths as well as clinopyroxene xenocrysts in the Qingdao region provide us a precious opportunity to unveil the nature and characteristics of the Late Mesozoic lithospheric mantle and lower crust beneath the Jiaodong region, and the change of the magma sources. These studies are of important and significant for understanding the lithospheric evolution in the eastern North China Craton. There were two periods of magma activities in Late Mesozoic in Qingdao Laoshan region, one was around 107Ma in the Early Cretaceous and the other around 86Ma in the Late Cretaceous according to the whole rock K-Ar age determination. The Early Cretaceous mafic dykes and the Late Cretaceous mafic dyke (i.e. Pishikou mafic dike) have completely different geochemical characteristics. The Early Cretaceous mafic dykes are enriched in LILE, strongly depleted in HFSE (Nb, Ta, Zr, Hf) and characterized by the highly radiogenic Sr and Nd isotopic compositions. These geochemical features indicate that the Early Cretaceous mafic dykes were derived from an enriched lithospheric mantle. In contrast, the Late Cretaceous mafic dyke is enriched in LILE, without HFSE depletion (Nb, Ta, Zr, Hf) and has less radiogenic Nd and Sr isotopic compositions. These geochemical features indicate that the Late Cretaceous mafic dyke was derived from the asthenosphere modified by subducted pelagic sediment contamination. The intrusive age of the Late Cretaceous mafic dyke provides further information for the termination of the lithosphere thinning for the eastern North China Crtaon. Pishikou Late Cretaceous mafic dyke contains abundant peridotitic xenoliths, granulite xenoliths and clinopyroxene xenocrysts. The peridotitic xenoliths can be divided into two types: high Mg# peridotites and low Mg# peridotites, according to their textural and mineral features. The high-Mg# peridotites have high Fo (up to 92.2) olivines and high Cr# (up to 55) spinels. The clinopyroxenes in the high# peridotites are rich in Cr2O3 and poor in Al2O3. The low-Mg# peridotites are typified by low Mg# (Fo <90) in olivines and low Cr# (Cr# <0.14) in spinels. The clinopyroxenes in the low-Mg# peridotites are rich in Al2O3 and Na2O and poor in Cr2O3. These two type peridotites have similar equilibrated temperatures of 950C-1100C. The Clinopyroxenes in the high-Mg# peridotites generally have high and variable REE contents (REE = 5.6-84 ppm) and LREE-enriched chondrite-normalized patterns ((La/Yb)N>1). In contrast, the clinopyroxenes in the low-Mg# peridotites have low REE contents (REE = 12 ppm) and LREE-depleted patterns ((La/Yb)N<1). The textural, mineral and elemental features of the low-Mg# peridotites are similar to those of the low-Mg peridotites from the Junan, representing the newly-accreted lithospheric mantle. However, the mineralogical and petrological features of the high-Mg# peridotites are similar to those of the high-Mg# peridotites from the Junan region, representing samples from the old refractory lithospheric mantle that was strongly and multiply affected by melts of different origins Late Cretaceous mafic dike in the Qingdao region also contains two types of granulite xenoliths according to the mineral constituents: the pyroxene-rich granulites and the plagioclase-rich granulites. Equilibrated temperatures calculated from the cpx-opx geothermometers are in a range of 861C - 910C for the pyroxene-rich granulites and of 847C - 890C for the plagioclase-rich granulites. The equilibrated pressure for the plagioclase-rich granulites is in a range of 9.9-11.7 kbar. Combined with the results of the peridotitic xenoliths, a 40C temperature gap exists between the peridotite and the granulite. The petrological Moho was 33~36 km at depths, broadly consistent with the seismic Moho estimated from the geophysical data. This indicates that there was no obvious crust-mantle transition zone in the Qingdao region in the Late Mesozoic. Pishikou Late Cretaceous mafic dyke entrained lots of clinopyroxene xenocrysts which are characterized by the chemical zoning. According to the zoning features, two types of clinopyroxene xenoliths can be classified, the normal zoning and the revise zoning. The normally-zoned clinopyroxene xenocrysts have LREE-depleted REE patterns in the cores. In contrast, the revisely-zoned clinopyroxenes have LREE-enriched REE patterns in the cores. According to the rim and core compositions of xenocrysts, all the rims are balanced with the host magma. Meanwhile, the origins of the cores were complicated, in which the normally-zoned clinopyroxenes were derived form the lithospheric mantle and some of the reversely-zoned clinopyroxnes were originated from the lower crust. Other revisely-zoned clinopyroxenes had experienced complex geological evolution and need to be further investigated. According to the above results, a simplified lithospheric profile has been established beneath the Qingdao region and a constraint on the nature and characteristics of the lithospheric mantle and lower crust has been made.