Hydrodynamic influence on reservoir sustainability in semi-arid climate: A physicochemical and environmental isotopic study.

Water scarcity and increasing water demand require the development of water management plans such as establishing artificial lakes and dams. Plans to meet water needs are faced by uprising challenges to improve water quality and to ensure the sustainability of hydro-projects. Environmental isotopes coupled to water physicochemical characteristics were investigated over a biennial cycle to assess both geomorphological and environmental impacts on the water quality of a reservoir situated in an intensively used agricultural watershed under a Mediterranean semi-arid climate. The particularity of the semi-arid climate and the diverse topography generate a continental and orographic rain effect on the isotopic composition of precipitation and the water recharged sources. The studied reservoir responds quickly to land-use activities and climatic changes as reflected by temporal and spatial variations of water chemistry and isotopic composition. Increasing changes in precipitation rate and dry periods significantly modified the water isotopic composition in the reservoir. During the first year, hydrogen (δD) and oxygen (δ18O) isotopes are depleted by 6 and 2‰ between dry and wet season, respectively. While a shift of -2‰ for δD and -1‰ for δ18O was detected during the second annual cycle. Environmental isotopic compositions demonstrate for the first time the occurrence of groundwater inflow to the central (Cz) and dam (Dz) zones of the Qaraaoun reservoir. The Cz and Dz can be considered as open water bodies subjected to dilution by groundwater inflow, which induces vertical mixing and reverse isotopic stratification of the water column. In the contrary, the river mouth zone acts as a closed system without groundwater intrusion, where heavy water accumulates and may act as a sink for contaminants during dry season. Groundwater influx acts as a dilution factor that renews the hypolimnion, and minimizes the perturbations induced by both internal biogeochemical reactions and external hydrological variations. Attention should be devoted to the hydrogeological location of planned reservoirs, which should take into account the vicinity of shallow water table to insure good water quality and water sustainability.

Role of phosphogypsum and NPK amendments on the retention or leaching of metals in different soils.

Column leaching tests were conducted to investigate the effects of soil physicochemical characteristics on metal mobility in the subsurface. The metals investigated originated from disposed industrial waste byproducts and from agrochemicals spread over the farmlands. Soil column tests can provide insights into leaching of metals to underlying water compartments. The findings of this study can be used for prevention strategies and for setting risk assessment approaches to land-use and management, and soil and water quality and sustainability. Soils collected from an industrial (IS) watershed and an agricultural (AQ) hydrographic basin were used in soil column leaching experiments. The soil samples were characterized for mineralogy, functional groups, grain size, surface charge, soil type, porosity, and cation exchange capacity (CEC) along with elemental composition. Varying concentrations of phosphogypsum industrial waste or agrochemical (NPK fertilizer) was then added to the surface of the packed columns (n = 28). The columns were subjected to artificial rain over a period of 65 days. Leachates were collected and analyzed for dissolved Na(+), K(+), and Cd(2+) throughout the experimental period, whereas residual Cd content in the subsurface soil was measured at the end of the experiment. Physicochemical characterization indicated that the AQ soil has a higher potential for metal retention due to its fine clay texture, calcareous pH, high organic matter content and CEC. Metal release was more prominent in the IS soil indicating potential contamination of the surrounding soil and water compartments. The higher metal release is attributed to soil physicochemical characteristics. High calcium concentrations of phosphogypsum origin is expected to compete for adsorbed bivalent elements, such as Cd, resulting in their release. The physicochemical characteristics of the receiving media should be taken into consideration when planning land-use in order to achieve sustainable development. Soil physiochemical characteristics play a key role in determining the behavior and fate of elements upon application of amendments. Sandy soils should not be assigned to industrial zones or landfills due to their high permeability, unlike fine clay soils. Furthermore, application of fertilizers on sandy soils can threaten groundwater quality, whereas their extensive use on clayey soil can cause soil salinisation.

A double-sided, single-chip integration scheme using through-silicon-via for neural sensing applications.

We present a new double-sided, single-chip monolithic integration scheme to integrate the CMOS circuits and MEMS structures by using through-silicon-via (TSV). Neural sensing applications were chosen as the implementation example. The proposed heterogeneous device integrates standard 0.18 µm CMOS technology, TSV and neural probe array into a compact single chip device. The neural probe array on the back-side of the chip is connected to the CMOS circuits on the front-side of the chip by using low-parasitic TSVs through the chip. Successful fabrication results and detailed characterization demonstrate the feasibility and performance of the neural probe array, TSV and readout circuitry. The fabricated device is 5 × 5 mm(2) in area, with 16 channels of 150 µm-in-length neural probe array on the back-side, 200 µm-deep TSV through the chip and CMOS circuits on the front-side. Each channel consists of a 5 × 6 probe array, 3 × 14 TSV array and a differential-difference amplifier (DDA) based analog front-end circuitry with 1.8 V supply, 21.88 µW power consumption, 108 dB CMRR and 2.56 µVrms input referred noise. In-vivo long term implantation demonstrated the feasibility of presented integration scheme after 7 and 58 days of implantation. We expect the conceptual realization can be extended for higher density recording array by using the proposed method.

Reservoir sediments: a sink or source of chemicals at the surface water-groundwater interface.

This study delineates the physical, chemical, and biological effects resulting from anthropogenic and endogenic activities in a sensitive dammed reservoir situated in a semi-arid region. The reservoir is characterized by two major flow regimes: a wet fill hydrologic regime and a dry spill one. A seasonal sampling campaign was carried out over a period of 2 years (2011-2013) where water samples were collected across the water column and from piezometers just outside the perimeter of the reservoir. Similarly, sediments were collected from the corresponding areas beneath the water column. The water samples were analyzed for environmental isotopic ratios, elemental composition, and physical, biological and chemical parameters, whereas the sediment and algal samples were subjected to physical, mineralogical, spectroscopic, and microscopic analyses. This investigation indicated that the dam had resulted in the alteration of the biogeochemical cycle of nutrients as well as the degradation of the sediment and water quality. The hydrological and biogeochemical processes were found to induce vertical downward transport of chemicals towards the fine grained calcareous sediments during the fill mode, whereas the sediments acted as a source of a chemical flux upward through the water column and downward towards the groundwater during the spill mode. The geomorphological characteristics of the reservoir enhanced the strong hydrological connectivity between the surface water and the groundwater where the reservoir responded quickly to natural and anthropogenic changes in the upper watershed. The water and sediments in the sensitive spill mode were of poor quality and should receive more attention due to the potential hazard for the associated hydro-project and the sustainability of the agricultural soil in the long term. Thus, a safe water and sediment management plan should be implemented in order to improve the dam functionality and to safeguard the precious water resources.

Influence of seawater ions on phosphate adsorption at the surface of hydrous ferric oxide (HFO).

The adsorption of phosphate on hydrated ferric oxide (HFO) was studied in solutions containing major seawater ions (Na+, Mg2+, Cl-, SO42-, Ca2+, K+) at pHs 6.5, 7.5 and 8.5. The presence of these ions promotes phosphate adsorption and the process is electrostatic in nature. Despite this electrostatic force, the precipitation of hydroxyapatite in the presence of Ca2+ at pH 8.5 also plays an important role in the removal of phosphates from the dissolved phase. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra support that phosphate adsorption on HFO surface can be attributed to inner sphere complexes with the formation of bidentate complexes (FeO)2PO2 in the presence of main seawater ions at pH = 8.5. The results of EDS clearly indicated that Fe-P-Ca complexes, Fe-P-Mg, or other phosphate-bridged ternary complexes were not formed during adsorption in the presence of NaCl, KCl, CaCl2, Na2SO4 and MgCl2. This observation differs somewhat from that the typical explanation used to describe the phosphate adsorption mechanism on HFO. The CD-MUSIC model makes it possible to describe this adsorption mechanism of phosphate on HFO in the presence of 0.7 M NaCl, and these outcomes are coherent with the experimental FTIR and EDS results.

Unravelling phosphate adsorption on hydrous ferric oxide surfaces at the molecular level.

The thorough understanding of the adsorption mechanism of phosphate on hydrous ferric oxides is necessary to deal with the environmental issues related to high phosphate concentrations in soils and open water. In this work, we consider three different adsorption geometries (monodentate and bidentate chemisorption and physisorption) and calculate the adsorption geometries and related adsorption energies at optPBE-vdW level. Using the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution, it is estimated that about 83% of the phosphate molecules is in a monodentate chemisorption configuration, while 17% is physisorbed. Furthermore, theoretical infra-red spectra are obtained and compared to equivalent experimental spectra, supporting the conclusion that mainly monodentate chemisorption and physisorption occur. Most interestingly, a weighed infra-red spectrum is then calculated, using the weights from the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution, showing a very good comparison with the experimental spectra.

Phosphate adsorption on hydrous ferric oxide (HFO) at different salinities and pHs.

Phosphate adsorption on suspended sediments is largely influenced by the variations in salinity and pH such as is the case in estuaries where freshwater mixes with seawater, exhibiting strong physico-chemical gradients. In this research, the influence of salinity and pH on the adsorption of phosphate on hydrous ferric oxides (HFO) was investigated in NaCl solutions. The adsorption isotherm data at different salinities can be well fitted with the Langmuir-Freundlich model. At pH 8.5 the maximum adsorption capacity increases with increasing salinity, from 22.7 mg PO4/g at salinity 0-78.5 mg PO4/g at salinity 35 PSU (Practical Salinity Unit) with the largest increase occurring in the low salinity range (76.8 mg PO4/g at salinity 5 PSU). Phosphate adsorption is also highly pH dependent and the adsorption capacity decreases with increasing pH. The dependence of phosphate adsorption on salinity could be attributed to the inner-sphere complexation. The presence of Na+ modifies the phosphate speciation, which can also facilitate phosphate adsorption. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) results show that both bidentate (≡Fe2PO4) and monodentate (≡FePO4) complexes are formed during phosphate adsorption on HFO surface. Quantitative relationships between phosphate adsorption and salinity are proposed for the different pHs investigated in this study, which is important for the understanding of the phosphate adsorption dynamics during estuarine mixing.

Nutrient, pigment, suspended matter and turbidity measurements in the Belgian part of the North Sea.

Through regular sampling surveys, the Flanders Marine Institute is generating long term data series for the Belgian coastal water and sand bank systems, a designated site in the Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) network. The data series is built on sampling activities initiated in 2002, but gradually upgraded and extended in the framework of the LifeWatch marine observatory and the Integrated Carbon Observation System (ICOS) participation. Nine nearshore stations are sampled monthly, with additional seasonal sampling of eight offshore stations. This paper presents the generated data series for nutrients, pigments, suspended matter and turbidity. The collection, methodology and processing of the 2002-2018 dataset is described, along with its data curation, integration and quality control. Yearly versions of the data are published online in a standardized format, accompanied with extensive metadata description and labelled with digital identifiers for traceability. Data is published under a CC-BY license, allowing use of the data under the condition of providing reference to the original source.

Biological responses of the marine diatom Chaetoceros socialis to changing environmental conditions: A laboratory experiment.

Diatoms constitute a major group of phytoplankton, accounting for ~20% of the world's primary production. It has been shown that iron (Fe) can be the limiting factor for phytoplankton growth, in particular, in the HNLC (High Nutrient Low Chlorophyll) regions. Iron plays thus an essential role in governing the marine primary productivity and the efficiency of biological carbon pump. Oceanic systems are undergoing continuous modifications at varying rates and magnitudes as a result of changing climate. The objective of our research is to evaluate how changing environmental conditions (dust deposition, ocean warming and acidification) can affect marine Fe biogeochemistry and diatom growth. Laboratory culture experiments using a marine diatom Chaetoceros socialis were conducted at two temperatures (13°C and 18°C) and under two pCO2 (carbon dioxide partial pressure) (400 µatm and 800 µatm) conditions. The present study clearly highlights the effect of ocean acidification on enhancing the release of Fe upon dust deposition. Our results also confirm that being a potential source of Fe, dust provides in addition a readily utilizable source of macronutrients such as dissolved phosphate (PO4) and silicate (DSi). However, elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations may also have an adverse impact on diatom growth, causing a decrease in cell size and possible further changes in phytoplankton composition. Meanwhile, ocean warming may lead to the reduction of diatom production and cell size, inducing poleward shifts in the biogeographic distribution of diatoms. The changing climate has thus a significant implication for ocean phytoplankton growth, cell size and primary productivity, phytoplankton distribution and community composition, and carbon (C), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), silicon (Si) and Fe biogeochemical cycles in various ways.

Modelling metal speciation in the Scheldt Estuary: combining a flexible-resolution transport model with empirical functions.

Predicting metal concentrations in surface waters is an important step in the understanding and ultimately the assessment of the ecological risk associated with metal contamination. In terms of risk an essential piece of information is the accurate knowledge of the partitioning of the metals between the dissolved and particulate phases, as the former species are generally regarded as the most bioavailable and thus harmful form. As a first step towards the understanding and prediction of metal speciation in the Scheldt Estuary (Belgium, the Netherlands), we carried out a detailed analysis of a historical dataset covering the period 1982-2011. This study reports on the results for two selected metals: Cu and Cd. Data analysis revealed that both the total metal concentration and the metal partitioning coefficient (Kd) could be predicted using relatively simple empirical functions of environmental variables such as salinity and suspended particulate matter concentration (SPM). The validity of these functions has been assessed by their application to salinity and SPM fields simulated by the hydro-environmental model SLIM. The high-resolution total and dissolved metal concentrations reconstructed using this approach, compared surprisingly well with an independent set of validation measurements. These first results from the combined mechanistic-empirical model approach suggest that it may be an interesting tool for risk assessment studies, e.g. to help identify conditions associated with elevated (dissolved) metal concentrations.

2.5D heterogeneously integrated microsystem for high-density neural sensing applications.

Heterogeneously integrated and miniaturized neural sensing microsystems are crucial for brain function investigation. In this paper, a 2.5D heterogeneously integrated bio-sensing microsystem with µ-probes and embedded through-silicon-via (TSVs) is presented for high-density neural sensing applications. This microsystem is composed of µ-probes with embedded TSVs, 4 dies and a silicon interposer. For capturing 16-channel neural signals, a 24 × 24 µ-probe array with embedded TSVs is fabricated on a 5×5 mm(2) chip and bonded on the back side of the interposer. Thus, each channel contains 6 × 6 µ -probes with embedded TSVs. Additionally, the 4 dies are bonded on the front side of the interposer and designed for biopotential acquisition, feature extraction and classification via low-power analog front-end (AFE) circuits, area-power-efficient analog-to-digital converters (ADCs), configurable discrete wavelet transforms (DWTs), filters, and a MCU. An on-interposer bus ( µ-SPI) is designed for transferring data on the interposer. Finally, the successful in-vivo test demonstrated the proposed 2.5D heterogeneously integrated bio-sensing microsystem. The overall power of this microsystem is only 676.3 µW for 16-channel neural sensing.

Applying physicochemical approaches to control phosphogypsum heavy metal releases in aquatic environment.

One of the most important sources of solid waste in the Mediterranean Basin ecosystem originated from the phosphate fertilizer industries, which discharge phosphogypsum (PG) directly into aquatic environments or are stacked on stockpiles. The present study investigates metal release from PG under the influence of variable pH, increasing PG mass content, and complexing organic matter ligands. Major ions from PG leachates, grain size and charge, main functional groups along with metal leachability (Pb, Cd, Cr, Cu, and Zn) were determined using ion chromatography, laser diffraction, zetameter, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and atomic absorption spectroscopy, respectively. The complete dissolution of PG recorded is at 2 g/L. Saturation and supersaturation with respect to PG may occur at concentrations of 3 and 4 g/L, respectively, revealing a clustering phenomenon leading to heavy metal encapsulation within the aggregates. Organic ligands such as citrate may trigger the cationic exchange within the PG suspension leading to ion release. As these factors are considered as specific process involving the release of contaminants from PG during storage under natural conditions, this study could set the foundations for PG remediation in aquatic environment. Organic ligands under controlled pH conditions could be utilized in treating fertilizer industrial wastes by taking into consideration the particularity of the receiving area, thus decreasing metal hazardous impact on natural media.

Precise measurement of Fe isotopes in marine samples by multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS).

A novel analytical technique for isotopic analysis of dissolved and particulate iron (Fe) from various marine environments is presented in this paper. It combines coprecipitation of dissolved Fe (DFe) samples with Mg(OH)(2), and acid digestion of particulate Fe (PFe) samples with double pass chromatographic separation. Isotopic data were obtained using a Nu Plasma MC-ICP-MS in dry plasma mode, applying a combination of standard-sample bracketing and external normalization by Cu doping. Argon interferences were determined prior to each analysis and automatically subtracted during analysis. Sample size can be varied between 200 and 600 ng of Fe per measurement and total procedural blanks are better than 10 ng of Fe. Typical external precision of replicate analyses (1S.D.) is +/-0.07 per thousand on delta(56)Fe and +/-0.09 per thousand on delta(57)Fe while typical internal precision of a measurement (1S.E.) is +/-0.03 per thousand on delta(56)Fe and +/-0.04 per thousand on delta(57)Fe. Accuracy and precision were assured by the analysis of reference material IRMM-014, an in-house pure Fe standard, an in-house rock standard, as well as by inter-laboratory comparison using a hematite standard from ETH (Zürich). The lowest amount of Fe (200 ng) at which a reliable isotopic measurement could still be performed corresponds to a DFe or PFe concentration of approximately 2 nmol L(-1) for a 2 L sample size. To show the versatility of the method, results are presented from contrasting environments characterized by a wide range of Fe concentrations as well as varying salt content: the Scheldt estuary, the North Sea, and Antarctic pack ice. The range of DFe and PFe concentrations encountered in this investigation falls between 2 and 2000 nmol L(-1) Fe. The distinct isotopic compositions detected in these environments cover the whole range reported in previous studies of natural Fe isotopic fractionation in the marine environment, i.e. delta(56)Fe varies between -3.5 per thousand and +1.5 per thousand. The largest fractionations were observed in environments characterized by redox changes and/or strong Fe cycling. This demonstrates the potential use of Fe isotopes as a tool to trace marine biogeochemical processes involving Fe.