Distribution patterns of octylphenol and nonylphenol in the aquatic system at Mai Po Marshes Nature Reserve,a subtropical estuarine wetland in Hong Kong

Spatial and temporal distribution of octylphenol （OP） and nonylphenol （NP） in Mai Po Marshes, a subtropical estuarine wetland in Hong Kong, were investigated. Surface water samples were collected every month from 11 sites during the period of September- December 2004. Concentrations of OP and NP ranged from 11.3 to 348 ng/L and from 29 to 2591 ng/L, respectively. The high levels of NP and OP were found in November and December than in September and October. The levels of OP and NP have no significant spatial differences except September. Total organic matter in the sediments appeared to be an important factor in controlling the fate of these compounds in the aquatic environment.

淮北煤田煤中汞的赋存状态

系统采集淮北煤田10、7、5、4和3煤层的29个煤样品,采用逐级化学提取方法研究了煤中汞的赋存状态,根据提取步骤和汞的特性,将煤中的汞分为水溶态、离子交换态、有机态、碳酸盐结合态、硅酸盐结合态和硫化物结合态,利用FlowInjectionMercurySystem(FIMS)分析了样品中总汞和不同形态中汞的含量.测试结果表明,与华北石炭-二叠纪煤、中国煤以及美国煤含量相比较,淮北煤田煤中汞的含量明显富集.逐级化学提取实验结果和煤中汞与硫、灰分的相关分析结果表明,岩浆的侵入对煤中汞的赋存状态有较大的影响,不受岩浆侵入影响的10、4和3煤层煤中的汞主要以有机态和硫化物结合态存在,受岩浆侵入影响的5和7煤层中的汞主要以硅酸盐结合态存在.

Variations between rice cultivars in iron and manganese plaque on roots and the relation with plant cadmium uptake

To understand certain mechanisms causing variations between rice cultivars with regard to cadmium uptake and tolerance, pot soil experiments were conducted with two rice cultivars of different genotypes under different soil Cd levels. The relationships between plant Cd uptake and iron/manganese （Fe/Mn） plaque formation on roots were investigated. The results showed that rice cultivars differed markedly in Cd uptake and tolerance. Under soil Cd treatments, Cd concentrations and accumulations in the cultivar Shanyou 63 （the genotype indica） were significantly higher than those in the cultivar Wuyunjing 7 （the genotype japonica） （P 〈 0.01, or P 〈 0.05）, and Shanyou 63 was more sensitive to Cd toxicity than Wuyunjing 7. The differences between the rice cultivars were the largest at relatively low soil Cd level （i.e., 10 mg/kg）. Fe concentrations in dithionite-citrate-bicarbonate root extracts of Shanyou 63 were generally lower than that of Wuyunjing 7, and the difference was the most significant under the treatment of 10 mg Cd/kg soil. The results indicated that the formation of iron plaque on rice roots could act as a barrier to soil Cd toxicity, and may be a ＂buffer＂ or a ＂reservoir＂ which could reduce Cd uptake into rice roots. And the plaque may contribute, to some extent, to the genotypic differences of rice cultivars in Cd uptake and tolerance.

Characterizing the optimal operation of photocatalytic degradation of BDE-209 by nano-sized TiO_2

Brominated flame retardants have been widely used in industry. There is a rapid growing public concern for their availabilities in the environment. Advanced oxidation process （AOP） is a promising and efficient technology which may be used to remove emerging chemicals such as brominated flame retardants. This study aims at investigating optimal operational conditions for the removal of BDE-209 using nano-scaled titanium（IV） oxide. The residual PBDE congeners after photocatalytical degradation of BDE-209 by TiO2 were analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry （GC-MS）. It was found that the degradability of BDE-209 by TiO2 was attributed to its photocatalytic activity but not the small size of the particles. The half-life of removing BDE-209 by TiO2 was 3.05 days under visible light. Tetra- and penta-BDEs were the major degraded products of BDE-209. Optimum conditions for photocatalytical degradation of BDE-209 was found to be at pH 12 （93% ± 1%）, 5, 10, 20 mg/L （93.0% ± 1.70%, 91.6% ± 3.21%, 91.9% ± 0.952%, respectively）, respectively of humic acid and in the form of anatase/rutile TiO2 （82% ± 3%）. Hence, the efficiency of removing BDE-209 can be maximized while being cost effective at the said operating conditions.

Application of a Digital Soil Mapping Method in Producing Soil Orders on Mountain Areas of Hong Kong Based on Legacy Soil Data

Based on legacy soil data from a soil survey conducted recently in the traditional manner in Hong Kong of China, a digital soil mapping method was applied to produce soil order information for mountain areas of Hong Kong. Two modeling methods (decision tree analysis and linear discriminant analysis) were used, and their applications were compared. Much more eflort was put on selecting soil covariates for modeling. First, analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to test the variance of terrain attributes between soil orders. Then, a stepwise procedure was used to select soil covariates for linear discriminant analysis, and a backward removing procedure was developed to select soil covariates for tree modeling. At the same time, ANOVA results, as well as our knowledge and experience on soil mapping, were also taken into account for selecting soil covariates for tree modeling. Two linear discriminant models and four tree models were established finally, and their prediction performances were validated using a multiple jackknifing approach. Results showed that the discriminant model built on ANOVA results performed best, followed by the discriminant model built by stepwise, the tree model built by the backward removing procedure, the tree model built according to knowledge and experience on soil mapping, and the tree model built automatically. The results highlighted the importance of selecting soil covariates in modeling for soil mapping, and suggested the usefulness of methods used in this study for selecting soil covariates. The best discriminant model was finally selected to map soil orders for this area, and validation results showed that thus produced soil order map had a high accuracy.