[en] The microtremor horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio (HVSR, or H/V spectral ratio) method is an effective tool for detecting sediment thickness. Firstly, single-station microtremor measurements were taken beside 52 boreholes located in Pearl River Delta, China. Sediment thicknesses revealed by those boreholes range from 7.9 to 39.6 m. Then, those microtremor data were analyzed using HVSR method, and peak frequency of each site was extracted. According to those peak frequencies of HVSR and corresponding sediment thicknesses, the frequency-to-thickness fitting (f–Z) equation which is suitable for Pearl River Delta area was established. And this equation was compared with several fitting equations derived from different regions by other researchers. Finally, this fitting equation was applied in a collapse area in Guangzhou city to estimate site sediment thickness. Compared with data from five boreholes in this collapse area, the consistency between estimated sediment thickness and real value was relatively good. Karst sinkholes are generally located in regions where thickness of sediments is shallow. Therefore, the method described in this paper can provide support for delineating potential collapse areas.

No abstract available

[en] We assess the issues of urban effects on the precipitation over the Pearl River Delta (PRD) metropolitan regions of China. The spatial and temporal variations of strong versus weak precipitation over the PRD and surrounding nonurban areas are investigated. The results show that the urbanization signatures in strong precipitation are significantly different from those in weak precipitation over the urban areas. The PRD experiences more strong precipitation but less weak precipitation compared to surrounding nonurban regions. In addition, the strong precipitation over the PRD displays a pronounced seasonal variation. The seasonality of weak precipitation, however, is much weaker over the PRD compared to the surrounding nonurban regions. Moreover, a strengthening in the precipitation intensity, a reduction in the rainfall frequency and an increase in the convective precipitation as well as the afternoon precipitation are found over the urban areas, which are probably associated with the abundance in strong precipitation and the deficit in weak precipitation over the PRD.

[en] Concentrations of ten metals were evaluated in surface sediments along Cauto River by dispersive energy X-Rays Fluorescence using External Standard Method. The results showed that heavy metal concentrations (in mg/kg; Fe in %) were 1.46-2.77, 8.8-12.0, 16-25, 117-140,35-56, and 40-48. for Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zb and Pb respectively, generally decreasing along the course of the river. Geo accumulation indexes were categorized between strongly to very strongly polluted for Cu and Co in all the stations. The calculation of enrichment factors (EF) showed that Co and Cu were enriched whereas the others metals were depleted. Concentrations of Cu and Ni were higher than Effect range low (ERL) but still below Effect range medium (ERM) value established by NOAA. Heavy metal concentrations found in the present study were comparable to other zones of the country and other regions of the world. In the last years, a considerable increase of Pb concentrations was found indicated more anthropogenic inputs. Based on the calculated indexes, Cauto River zone can be classified as unpolluted to moderately polluted environment. (Author)

[en] To elucidate the role of genetic factors in arsenic metabolism, we investigated associations of genetic polymorphisms in the members of glutathione S-transferase (GST) superfamily with the arsenic concentrations in hair and urine, and urinary arsenic profile in residents in the Red River Delta, Vietnam. Genotyping was conducted for GST ω1 (GSTO1) Ala140Asp, Glu155del, Glu208Lys, Thr217Asn, and Ala236Val, GST ω2 (GSTO2) Asn142Asp, GST π1 (GSTP1) Ile105Val, GST μ1 (GSTM1) wild/null, and GST θ1 (GSTT1) wild/null. There were no mutation alleles for GSTO1 Glu208Lys, Thr217Asn, and Ala236Val in this population. GSTO1 Glu155del hetero type showed higher urinary concentration of As^V than the wild homo type. Higher percentage of DMA^V in urine of GSTM1 wild type was observed compared with that of the null type. Strong correlations between GSTP1 Ile105Val and arsenic exposure level and profile were observed in this study. Especially, heterozygote of GSTP1 Ile105Val had a higher metabolic capacity from inorganic arsenic to monomethyl arsenic, while the opposite trend was observed for ability of metabolism from As^V to As^III. Furthermore, other factors including sex, age, body mass index, arsenic level in drinking water, and genotypes of As (+ 3 oxidation state) methyltransferase (AS3MT) were also significantly co-associated with arsenic level and profile in the Vietnamese. To our knowledge, this is the first study indicating the associations of genetic factors of GST superfamily with arsenic metabolism in a Vietnamese population.

[en] To clarify the current situation of haze emission and governance in China, the study analyzed the characteristics of spatial correlation structure and synergistic governance development of the haze emission of 31 provinces in China, based on social network analysis and distance synergistic model. The results indicated that the spatial correlation of inter-provincial haze emission in China presented a typical “central–marginal” network structure. The provinces in the network center were mostly located in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region and the Yangtze River Delta region. The synergistic governance development of haze in China showed a lower level and fluctuating upward trend. In addition, the increase of network density, the decline of network grade, and the decrease of network efficiency would all improve the level of synergistic governance development. Therefore, focusing on the haze of the central provinces, improving the network structure, and improving regional synergy are important measures for effective governance. This paper improves the previous research model, considers the impact of economic and demographic factors on haze pollution, establishes a new model for analyzing spatial correlation structure of haze and calculating the synergistic governance level of haze, and designs feasible ways to raise the synergistic governance level of haze in China.

[en] Water movement in soils at the lower course and the middle course of Sakawa River's paddy field was monitored over an 8 week period using a bromide tracer. The water of soil samples taken one day after bromide application contained high concentrations of bromide at 50 to 60 cm soil depth at lower course. The bromide was concentrated promarily within 20 to 80 cm depth. No downward movement below 80 cm depth was detected six weeks afetr the application. This might indicate the high water table of this area. On the other hand, bromide concentrations were high at 50 cm depth in water of the soils sample taken one day after application from the middle course of Sakawa River plot. However, the concentrations were nearly at background level in all samples taken from the middle course of sakawa River 3 weeks after application. The evidence from bromide's movement shows that water readily penetrate the soils at the middle course of Sakawa River. The downward movement was faster compared to that at lower course

[en] We describe a saline gradient established by the damming of the Manamo River, a former freshwater environment, in the Orinoco Delta and the influence of this gradient on the distribution of Eichhornia crassipes Solms (water hyacinth), and Paspalum repens Berg, The two most abundant aquatic macrophytes. The present work demonstrates, on the basis of measurements of leaf osmolality and ion concentrations, that salinity is acting in the dammed river as a regulator of the studied species E. Crassipes is a potential weed which was originally controlled by the hydrodynamics of waters in the Orinoco River. Plants and river water were sampled in ten sites, three of them with high salinity. The osmolality as well as relative proportions of the main soluble ions explain the relative tolerance to salinity of E. Crassipes in comparison with P. Repens. In sites where both species were present, the K+/Na+ ratio in the leaf sap was higher in the E. Crassipes than in P. repens (authors)

[en] The aim of this report is the assessment of potential exposure to radioactive sands discovered in 2000 in two points of the coast of the Camargue (East of Beauduc and Espiguette lighthouses), where specific activity can reach up several thousands of Bq.kg^-1 for radionuclides of U²³⁸ and Th²³² radioactive families, and environmental dose rate up to ten times of usual natural background. The excess of radioactivity is carried by small particles of sand (apatites and zircons less than 100 μm). First chapter focuses on radioactivity of the coast of the Golfe du lion and of the Camargue, and more particularly on these two points (cartography, measure, radionuclide identification, mineralogical characterization of particles). This chapter concludes the excess of radioactivity is natural; particles come from several massifs of the Rhone basin, transported by the river and re-distributed on the coast. Second chapter focuses on dosimetric assessment, using reasonable scenarios for the frequenting of these sites by persons of the public in one hand, and drawing up the sizing of the sands and their solubility in gastric and intestinal fluids in an other hand. the annual effective dose, carefully calculated, is about 1 mSv, mainly due to external exposure to gamma rays. such a dose, of same levels as the dose received for 17 months of residence in Paris for example, does not involve any particular action. (authors)

[en] The upstream migration of salt water into the historic freshwater reaches of the Loxahatchee River is the likely cause of the altered floodplain cypress forest community along the Northwest Fork and some of its tributaries. Mangroves are replacing cypress forest and areas of mixed swamp hardwoods have reacted to different degrees to the saltwater stress. A hydrodynamic/salinity model was developed to study the influence of freshwater input, tidal inlet deepening and sea level rise on the salinity regime in the estuary. Field data analysis and model simulations indicate that the salinity condition in the estuary is sensitive to the amount of freshwater input from the watershed. During dry seasons the salt front advances into areas that were historically freshwater habitats. Historic evidence indicates that the Loxahatchee estuary was periodically closed and opened to the sea. Due to the active long shore sediment transport, the tidal inlet was probably characterized by shifting sandbars through which ran a narrow and unstable channel. Inlet dredging in the past several decades has increased the hydraulic conveyance of the inlet and the tidal influence into the estuary. The sea level record from a site in south Florida indicates that the sea level has been rising at a rate of approximately 2.3-mm per year. The rise of sea level in the past century has probably raised the mean tide level by about 23 centimeters. If the sea level rise continues as predicted, it is foreseeable that the salt front will move further upstream along with the sea level rise. Field data analysis and the preliminary model output led us to believe that the advance of seawater up the estuary is the combined effect of watershed hydrological changes, inlet deepening and sea level rise. (author)