Influence of hail suppression systems over silver content in the environment in Aragón (Spain). II: Water, sediments and biota.

The silver content in soils in the area in the surroundings of the Gallocanta Lake (Aragón, NE Spain) is lower than expected considering the estimated silver emission during the last 50 years by hail suppression systems. To understand the silver accumulation processes, selected water (4 surface, 3 groundwater), biota and sediment (6 surface sediments and 3 cores from Gallocanta and Campillo de Dueñas Lakes and Used Reservoir) samples have been analysed. An essay comparing the growth of wheat in pots with different silver iodide concentrations has been carried out. Finally, silver content in 7 tissues from two sheep that graze in areas both with and without hail suppression systems during 6-8 years were analysed. Our results show that after 50 years of silver iodide emissions to the atmosphere, silver accumulation in the waters and sediments of the lowlands, including some wetlands of high ecological value, has not been significant. Sediment cores did not show any peaks associated to silver emission. We propose that constant absorption of silver by plants could explain the low concentration in water and sediments. Crops and grass could accumulate the excess silver, as both wheat and sheep are able to absorb significant amounts of silver. These bio - accumulation processes could have helped to avoid a progressive environmental deterioration of the surroundings of the Gallocanta Lake. However, this hypothesis should be corroborated and quantified by further research on the analysis of natural and agricultural areas under the influence of hail suppression systems.

Peloids as Thermotherapeutic Agents.

The use of peloids as heat-providing therapeutic systems dates back to antiquity. Such systems consist of a liquid phase and an organic or inorganic solid phase. The latter facilitates the handling, preparation and stability of the solid-liquid system, modifying its organoleptic and phy-sicochemical properties, and improves its efficacy and tolerance. Peloids enable the application of heat to very specific zones and the release of heat at a given rate. The aims of this work are to study 16 reference peloids used in medical spa centers as thermo-therapeutic agents as well as to propose nine raw materials as a solid phase for the preparation of peloids. The physical properties studied are the centesimal composition, the instrumental texture and the thermal parameters. In conclusion, the peloids of the medical spas studied are used as thermotherapeutic agents in the treatment of musculoskeletal disorders, especially in knee osteoarthritis and to a lesser extent in back pain and psoriatic arthropathy. The clinical experience in these centers shows that the main effects of the application of their peloids are the reduction of pain, an increase in the joint's functional capacity and an improvement in the quality of life. As thermotherapeutic agents, all the peloids of the me-dical spas studied and the pastes (raw materials with distilled water) examined showed a heat flow rate of up to four times lower than that shown by the same amount of water. The raw materials studied can be used as solid phases for the preparation of peloids with mineral waters.

Phenomenology and geographical gradients of atmospheric deposition in southwestern Europe: Results from a multi-site monitoring network.

This article presents the results of atmospheric deposition from a 15-sites network which cover remote, agricultural, urban and industrial areas in the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands, with the aim of exploring geographical, climatic and natural vs anthropogenic gradients. Annual average fluxes of global deposition, discriminating insoluble (3,5-20,7 g m-2 year-1) and soluble-inorganic (7,1-45,5 g m-2 year-1) aerosols are discussed, seasonal patterns are regarded, and an attempt to estimate the impact of the main sources is presented. The wide range of atmospheric deposition fluxes (DF) regarding soluble (DFSOL) and insoluble (DFINS) has been investigated taking into consideration the contribution from nearby to long-distance sources, such as African dust, or regional-to-nearby ones, which include agricultural dust in the Ebro Valley, industrial emissions at different parts, urban dust at all cities, or saline dust resuspension from a dissicated lake bed. DFSOL is made up of marine aerosols, prevailing in coastal areas, with few exceptions in the Ebro Valley; nitrogen-species, homogeneously distributed across the network, with few exceptions due to agricultural sources; mineral dust, enhanced in the Ebro Valley owing to regional and agricultural emissions; and phospathe, displaying comparable values to other studies in general, but three hotspots at regional background environments have been identified. DFINS particles followed the aridity pattern, especially where anthropogenic emissions take place. Our estimates indicate that the regional dust to DFINS in the Ebro Valley represented 23-30%, overpassing 50% at intensive agricultural areas. Similarly, urban-metropolitan contributions accounted for 37-45% at the four cities, and 55% at the industrial one. African dust deposition was enhanced in the Central Pyrenees (75-80%) as a result of the magnification of atmospheric washout processes, and in south-eastern Iberia (69%) owing to the higher frequency of dust outbreaks.