Historical eutrophication in a river-estuary complex in mid-coast Maine.

European settlement of New England brought about a novel disturbance regime that impacted rivers and estuaries through overfishing, deforestation, dams, and water pollution. The negative consequences of these activities intensified with industrialization in the 19th and 20th centuries, often resulting in ecosystem degradation. Since environmental legislation was implemented in the 1970s, improvement in water quality has been tangible and widespread; however, ecological recovery can require substantial amounts of time and may never be complete. To document the natural baseline conditions and investigate the recovery of a severely degraded river-estuary complex in mid-coast Maine, we examined diatoms, pollen, total organic carbon, total nitrogen, stable isotopes, total phosphorus, biogenic silica, and trace metals in intertidal sediments and established a chronology with 14C, 210Pb, and indicator pollen horizons. Both climate variability and human effects were evident in the sedimentary record of Merrymeeting Bay, the freshwater tidal portion of the Kennebec estuary. Natural climate variability was apparent in an episode of high sedimentation and altered diatom abundance during the 12th and 13th centuries and in changing pollen abundances between the 16th and 19th centuries, indicative of regional cooling. During the 18th century, colonial land clearance began an era of high sedimentation and eutrophication that strongly intensified with industrialization during the late 19th and 20th centuries. Improvements in water quality over the past 30 years in response to environmental regulation had little effect on ecosystem recovery as represented by the sedimentary record. Diatom composition and productivity and high fluxes of organic C, total P, and biogenic Si in recent sediments indicate that rates of nutrient loading remain high. These environmental proxies imply that aquatic productivity in Merrymeeting Bay was originally nutrient limited and water clarity high, relative to today. Further recovery may require more stringent regulation of nutrient inputs from industrial and municipal point sources. This historical study can contribute to public debate about the environmental management of this unusual river-estuary complex by describing its long-term natural baseline, thereby illustrating the upper limit of its potential for recovery.

[Raman spectroscopic study of Ming Dynasty bar-tile from Heijing of Lufeng].

Ming dynasty bar-tile from the archaeological site of Heijing (Lufeng of Yunnan Province, China) was analyzed by Raman microscopy, X-ray diffraction and electron probe microscopy (EPMA). It was found that the major components of the tile are SiO2, besides moonstone(KAlSi3O8 var. of K-orthoclase), Na-orthoclase(NaAlSi3 O8 )and an unknown mineral (Al, Fe)3(PO4,VO4)2(OH)3.8H2O etc. The studies revealed that the agglomerant temperature of the bar-tile reached up to 1500 degrees C, indicating that the agglomerant technology of ceramics of Yunnan in the Ming dynasty (before 17 century) already attained a high level. Raman microscopyproves especially excellent in studing antiques. The results show that the facility and reliability of Raman spectroscopy, as anon-destructive unique technique, are suitable for the discrimination between moonstone and K-orthoclase within tile. No other technique tried was successful in its identification. This research demonstrates that only by combining several complementary techniques is possible to conduct comprehensive research on antiques.

The link between silica dust levels, risk assessments, and regulations.

Improvements in workplace health among silica exposed workers followed demonstrations of the severity of the risk of silicosis and means of controlling high dust levels on the job. Current ambient environmental analyses include either an adoption of air quality goals for reducing emissions of criteria pollutants or the conduct of risk assessments to determine if regulatory procedures are needed. Although silica has been regulated as a workplace hazard for most of the 20th century, only recently has it been considered for ambient control, and most of the thrust for this action has evolved from environmental regulatory work in California, where both state initiative (Proposition 65) and legislative law (Air Toxics Hot Spots Information and Assessment Act; Assembly Bill number 2588) have required risk assessments for silica dust emissions as carcinogens.