Environmental Geochemistry Issues Semi-Monthly

Some L. A. County beaches closed after untreated sewage spill of 6 - 7 million gallons (Tony KURZWELL and Tracy BLOOM, KTLA Channel 5 News ; December 31, 2021) https://ktla.com/news/local-news/long-beach-closes-beaches-after-2-to-4-million-gallons-of-untreated-sewage-spills-into-dominguez-channel/ Also... LA County declares local emergency over Dominguez Channel odor near Carson (Ryan CARTER, Daily Breeze ; November 2, 2021) https://www.dailybreeze.com/2021/11/02/la-county-declares-local-emergency-over-dominguez-channel-odor-near-carson/amp/ Los Angeles Watershed ( City of Los Angeles Sanitation ) Websites: Dominguez Channel and Los Angeles/Long Beach Harbors WMA ( CA State Water Resources Control Board ) https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/losangeles/water_issues/programs/regional_program/Water_Quality_and_Watersheds/dominguez_channel/summary.shtml Virtual Tour of Dominguez Channel ( Public Works - Los Angeles County ) https://www.ladpw.org/wmd/watershed/dc/photos/chan...

State of Bihar, India by Maverick.Mohit ; CC BY-SA 3.0 , Link After Arsenic, Health Concerns over Uranium Contamination in Groundwater  (Mohd. Imran KHAN, NewsClick India ; 06 October 2021) https://www.newsclick.in/Bihar-After-Arsenic-Health-Concerns-Uranium-Contamination-Groundwater Featured Research Article :  Distribution and geochemical controls of arsenic and uranium in groundwater-derived drinking water in Bihar, India (RICHARDS et al., 2020) https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/7/2500/pdf Also... Uranium in drinking water:  A growing concern for India  (Central Ground Water Board, India Water Portal;  07 September 2021) https://www.indiawaterportal.org/articles/uranium-drinking-water-growing-concern-india Selected Research Articles: Arsenic contamination of groundwater: A global synopsis with focus on the Indian Peninsula (SHAJI et al. , 2021) https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674987120302115/pdfft?isDTMRedir=true&downlo...

Ordos Basin (YOU et al. , 2021) Triassic hydrothermal chimneys from the Ordos Basin of Northern China (YOU et al., 2021) https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-02053-0 Also... Soft sediment deformation structures in cores from lacustrine slurry deposits of the Late Triassic Yangchang Fm. (central China) [YANG et al. , 2016] https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Renchao-Yang/publication/311708424_Soft-sediment_deformation_structures_in_cores_from_lacustrine_slurry_deposits_of_the_Late_Triassic_Yanchang_Fm_central_China/links/5badeb75a6fdccd3cb78fcbf/Soft-sediment-deformation-structures-in-cores-from-lacustrine-slurry-deposits-of-the-Late-Triassic-Yanchang-Fm-central-China.pdf Major, trace and platinum group element geochemistry of Upper nonmarine hot shales in the Ordos Basin, Central China (QIU et al. , 2015) https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Xinwei-Qiu/publication/269727365_Major_trace_and_platinum-group_element_geochemistry_of_the_Upper_Triassic_nonmarine_hot_sh...

Groundwater Contaminant Plume , Unjedai ; CC BY-SA 3.0 , Link Toxins Long Buried May Surface As Groundwater Rises (Stephen STOCK, Robert CAMPOS, Mark VILLARREAL, and Mark HORN, NBC Bay Area ; November 4, 2021) https://www.nbcbayarea.com/investigations/toxins-long-buried-may-surface-as-groundwater-rises/2718842/ Near Coasts, Rising Seas Could Also Push Up Long-Buried Toxic Contamination (Laura KLIVANS, NPR ; February 8, 2021) https://www.npr.org/2021/02/08/963673676/near-coasts-rising-seas-could-also-push-up-long-buried-toxic-contamination Also... Projecting impacts of climate change on metal mobilization at contaminated sites:  Controls by the groundwater level (JARSJÖ et al. , 2020) https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S004896971935555X Transport of Contamination under the Influence of Sea Level Rise in Coastal Heterogeneous Aquifer (GUO et al. , 2020) https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/23/9838/pdf Influence of a coarse interlayer on seawater intrusion and contaminan...

  Petcoke Pile Up Close , USEPA ; Link Watchdog alleges routine pollution at Port of Benicia (Scott MORRIS, Vallejo Sun ; October 6, 2021) https://www.vallejosun.com/watchdog-alleges-routine-pollution-at-port-of-benicia/?fbclid=IwAR0HGoL26XR6NUdNE8ra5E3zgsYc5AJnvXNPgQlNNlMdR4lR-S3zLuhpUlQ Public Tips Lead to Catching Fossil Fuel Polluter in the Act (Press Release, San Francisco Baykeeper ; October 6, 2021) https://baykeeper.org/press_release/public-tips-lead-catching-fossil-fuel-polluter-act Selected Publication : Petroleum Coke:  Industry and Environmental Issues ( Congressional Research Services ; October 29, 2013) https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R43263/5 A Piece of Petroleum Coke , Divya BARAI ; CC BY-SA 4.0 , Link

Illustration:   NASA, ESA, Leah HUSTAK (STScl) ; Link Selected Research Articles: Predicting the abundance of copper in soil using reflectance spectroscopy and GF5 hyperspectral imagery (YIN et al. , 2021) https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0303243421001276 Retrieving zinc concentrations in topsoil with reflectance spectroscopy at OpenCast Coal Mine sites (GUO et al ., 2021) https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-99106-1 Estimating the heavy metal concentrations in topsoil in the Daxigou mining area, China, using multispectral satellite imagery (YANG et al ., 2021) https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-91103-8 Proximal and remote sensing techniques for mapping of soil contamination with heavy metals (SHI et al. , 2018) http://pdf.xuebalib.com:1262/cbuz5jYqbZpx.pdf Ecological risk assessment on heavy metals in soils:  Use of soil diffuse reflectance mid-infrared Fourier-transform spectroscopy (WANG et al. , 2017) https://www.nature.com/articl...

126,000 gallons of oil spilled along California coast in 'potential ecological disaster' (Harry BAKER, LiveScience ; October 4, 2021) https://www.livescience.com/oil-spill-california-coast Crews race to limit damage from major California oil spill (Amy TAXIN ad Christopher WEBER, Associated Press ; October 4, 2021) https://apnews.com/article/environment-and-nature-california-wildlife-wetlands-oil-spills-05cbeb962f42ae50590715fb3546d56c Huge ecological losses feared as Orange County oil spill hits wetlands, marshes (Ahn DOH, Robin ESTRIN, Jaclyn COSGROVE, Hannah FRYE, Los Angeles Times ; October 3, 2021) https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-10-03/fears-ecological-losses-california-oil-spill-wetlands-marshes Map: Where is the oil spill near Huntington Beach? ( Orange County Register ; October 4, 2021). Link Website: Huntington Beach Wetland Conservancy http://www.hbwetlands.org/index.php#&panel1-2

Nuclear waste interaction in the environment may be more complicated than once thought [Anne M. STARK, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) ; September 21, 2021] https://www.llnl.gov/news/nuclear-waste-interaction-environment-may-be-more-complicated-once-thought Also... Americium preferred:  Lanmodulin, a natural lanthanide-binding protein favors an actinide over lanthanides (SINGER et al. , 2021) https://chemrxiv.org/engage/chemrxiv/article-details/60d61c6f2616116df18c441d Open questions on the environmental chemistry of radionuclides (DEBLONDE et al. , 2020) https://www.nature.com/articles/s42004-020-00418-6 Lanmodulin Structure , Penn State ; Link

Stunning Wetlands - Bristol Bay Watershed , US EPA ; Link EPA to protect Alaska's Bristol Bay, blocking major gold mine (Dino GRANDONI and Joshua PARTLOW, Washington Post ; September 9, 2021) https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2021/09/09/biden-bristol-bay-gold-mine/ The Long and Winding Road:  EPA Says YES to Bristol Bay!   (Joel REYNOLDS, NRDC; September 9, 2021) https://www.nrdc.org/experts/joel-reynolds/long-and-winding-road-epa-says-yes-bristol-bay EPA Announces New Steps in Process to Protect Bristol Bay Watershed (Press Release, US EPA ; September 9, 2021) https://www.epa.gov/bristolbay Bristol Bay Watershed Map , djenkins ; Link

Damages after 2020 Beirut explosions ,  Mahdi SHOJAEIAN ; CC BY-SA 4.0 , Link Inside the clean-up of last year's deadly Beirut blast (Rebecca TRAGER, Chemistry World - Royal Society of Chemistry ; 30 June 2021) https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/inside-the-clean-up-of-last-years-deadly-beirut-blast/4013912.article Selected Research Articles : Yield estimation of the 2020 Beirut Explosion using open access waveform and remote sensing data (PILGER et al. , 2021) https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-93690-y Ammonium nitrate is a risk for environment:  A case study of Beirut (Lebanon) chemical explosion and the effects on the environment (REHMAN et al. , 2021) https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0147651320316705 Atmospheric wave energy of the 2020 August 4 explosion in Beirut, Lebanon, from ionospheric disturbances (KUNDU et al., 2021) https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-82355-5 Investigative consequence analysis: A case study research of Beirut e...

Drought threatens access to clean water in California farming communities, study finds (Margo ROSENBAUM, Sacramento Bee ; September 3, 2021) https://www.sacbee.com/news/california/water-and-drought/article253961508.html Increased Pumping in California's Central Valley During Drought Worsens Groundwater Quality (Press Release, USGS ; September 1, 2021) https://www.usgs.gov/news/increased-pumping-california-s-central-valley-during-drought-worsens-groundwater-quality Featured Research Publication: Critical Aquifer Overdraft Accelerates Degradation of Groundwater Quality in California's Central Valley During Drought (LEVY et al. , 2021) https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2021GL094398 Dirty Water Spilling from a Bottle, Ildar SAGDEJEV (Specious) ; CC BY-SA 4.0 , Link

Abandoned Cerro Gordo Silver Mines and Ghost Town , LCGS Russ ; CC BY-SA 3.0 , Link Bureau of Land Management Welcomes Public Input For Proposed Exploratory Drilling Project  [Press Release, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) ; July 30, 2021] https://www.blm.gov/press-release/bureau-land-management-welcomes-public-input-proposed-exploratory-drilling-project N. B.:  Public Comment Period deadline for  DOI-BLM-CA-D050-2021-0020-EA  is  August 30, 202 1 ! Selected Publication: Geologic Map of the Southern Inyo Mountains and Vicinity, Inyo County California (STONE et al. , 2014) https://pubs.usgs.gov/sim/3094/pdf/sim3094_pamphlet.pdf Websites: Conglomerate Mesa ( California Wilderness Coalition ) https://www.calwild.org/portfolio/fact-sheet-conglomerate-mesa/ Geologic Map of Cerro Gordo Peak 7.5 Quadrangle, Inyo County, California ( USGS ) https://pubs.usgs.gov/sim/2004/2851/ Conglomerate Mesa - B, Inyo County, California ( Mindat.org ) https://www.mindat.org/paleo_...

  Himalaya Formation , USGS ; Link Selected Research Articles:  Microcontinent subduction and S-type volcanism prior to India-Asia collision (YANG et al ., 2021) https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-94492-y The early drift of the Indian plate (JOKAT et al. , 2021) https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-90172-z Geological, geophysical and plate kinematic constraints from models of the India-Asia collision and post-Triassic central Tethys ocean (PARSONS et al. , 2020) https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0012825219303514 Magmatic record of India-Asia collision (ZHU et al. , 2015) https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282128786_Magmatic_record_of_India-Asia_collision/fulltext/562d6eda08ae04c2aeb4a54c/Magmatic-record-of-India-Asia-collision.pdf The Lhasa Terrane:  Record of a microcontinent and its histories of drift and growth (ZHU et al. , 2011) https://www.academia.edu/download/44135757/The_Lhasa_Terrane_Record_of_a_microconti20160326-17503-1...

U. S. EIA , Link When it comes to the Environmental Impact of Hydrofracking vs. Conventional Gas/Oil Drilling, Research Shows the Differences May Be Minimal (Dan BERNARDI, Syracuse University ; June 24, 2021) https://thecollege.syr.edu/news-all/news-from-2021/when-it-comes-to-the-environmental-impact-of-hydrofracking-vs-conventional-gasoil-drilling-research-shows-the-differences-may-be-minimal/ Featured Research Article: Detecting anomalous methane in groundwater within hydrocarbon production areas across the United States (WEN et al ., 2021) https://jaywen.com/files/Wen_2021_WR.pdf Shale Plays and Basins in the Contiguous 48 States, GAO ; Link

Midway-Sunset Oil Field - Oil Wells and Storage Tanks , Antandrus ; CC BY-SA 3.0 , Link   California oil lobby seeks to strip environmental protections for groundwater amid drought (Aaron CANTU, Capitol & Main ; July 13, 2021) https://capitalandmain.com/california-oil-lobby-seeks-to-strip-environmental-protections-for-groundwater-amid-drought Oilfield disposal site in Western Kern to close (John COX, Bakersfield Californian ;  June 13, 2021) https://www.bakersfield.com/news/oilfield-disposal-site-in-western-kern-set-to-close/article_cf286086-cad7-11eb-8531-03dbb19d8357.amp.html Hundreds of illicit oil wastewater pits found in Kern County (Julie KART, Los Angeles Times ; February 26, 2015) https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-pits-oil-wastewater-20150226-story.html?_amp=true Selected Research Articles: Relative risk of groundwater quality degradation near California (USA) oil fields estimated from  3 H, 14 C, and 4 He (MCMAHON et al. , 2021) https://www.sci...

Mineral-Water Interface Processes , Alain MANCEAU ; CC BY-SA 3.0 , Link Selected Publications: Liquid flow reversibly creates a macroscopic surface charge gradient                                          (OBER et al. , 2021) https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-24270-x Dynamic interactions at the mineral-organic matter interface (KLEBER et al. , 2021)  https://www.nature.com/articles/s43017-021-00162-y  ( N. B.:  Abstract only!) Manuscript Version: https://hal.sorbonne-universite.fr/hal-03225065v1 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03225065/document The Mineral Water Interface:  Where Minerals React with the Environment                           (PUNTIS and RUIZ-AGUDO, 2013) https://e-l.unifi.it/pluginfile.php/845082/mod_resource/content/1/articolo_12.pdf Adsorption of Organic Matter at Mi...

Siberian Flood Basalts , Mark ALLEN - USGS, Link New geochemical study confirms cause of end-Permian mass extinction event :  Laura Wasylenki of Northern Arizona University is co-author on a new paper in Nature Communications showing a direct link between global dispersion of nickel-rich aerosols, ocean chemistry changes and the end-Permian mass extinction event that took place 251 million years ago... (News Release, EurekAlert ; 21 June 2021) Featured Research Article: Nickel isotopes link Siberian Traps aerosol particles to the end-Permian mass extinction (LI et al. , 2021) https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-22066-7 Extinction Intensity on Marine Genus Biodiversity Graph ; CC BY-SA 3.0 , Link

(Press Release, EurekAlert ; 15 June 2021) https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-06/hcfe-ssi061521.php Sources of Nutrients and Pesticides ( USGS ; Link ) Pesticides in Groundwater ( USGS , Link )

Infographic: Sri Lanka's worst marine disaster   ( Gulf News ; 3 June 2021,   Link ) Fears of environmental disaster as oil-laden ship sinks off Sri Lanka (BBC News; 2 June 2021) https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-57327300 Sri Lanka faces disaster as burning ship spills chemicals on beaches (Hannah ELKIS-PETERSEN, The Guardian; 31 May 2021) https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/31/sri-lanka-faces-disaster-burning-ship-spills-chemicals-beaches

Bipolar Electrochemistry Scheme , Gabag1 ; CC BY-SA 3.0 , Link Selected Research Publications: SMFC as a tool for the removal of hydrocarbons and metals in the marine environment:  a concise research update (GAMBINO et al. , 2021) https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11356-021-13593-3 Remediation of heavy metal contaminated soil by asymmetrical alternating current electrochemistry (XU et al., 2019) https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-10472-x Electrochemically-mediated selective capture of heavy metal chromium and arsenic oxyanions from water (SU et al. , 2018) https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-07159-0 The enhancement of heavy metal removal from polluted river water treatment by integrated carbon-aluminum electrodes using electrochemical method (YUSSUF et al. , 2017) http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1757-899X/298/1/012006/pdf Electrochemical technologies for environmental remediation (YASRI and GUNASEKARAN, 2017) https://www.academia.edu/down...

Central Valley, California , Ken LUND ; CC BY-SA 2.0 , Link Central Valley water districts get OK to sue Dow, Shell over groundwater pollution                       (Bob EGELKO, San Francisco Chronicle ; May 18, 2021) https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/Central-Valley-water-districts-get-OK-to-sue-Dow-16186309.php IN BRIEF:  Calif. county sues Dow Chemical, Shell over TCP pollution                                   (Sebastien MALO, Reuters Legal/Westlaw Today ; November 11, 2020) https://today.westlaw.com/Document/I7fcfb170245511eba555a8b2243f4aa1/View/FullText.html?transitionType=SearchItem&contextData=(sc.Default) How Water Contamination is Putting California's San Joaquin Valley at Risk                              (Robin MEADOWS, Pacific Standard/Water ...

Kīlauea Volcanic Ash Plume , NASA ; Link Research Articles: Rapid metal pollutant deposition from the volcanic plume of Kīlauea, Hawai'i          (ILYINSKAYA et al. , 2021)  https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-021-00146-2 Volatile metal emissions from volcanic degassing and lava-seawater interactions at Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai'i (MASON et al., 2021) https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-021-00145-3 Restless Kīlauea   European Space Agency (ESA);  CC BY-SA 3.0 , Link

San Joaquin River Valley Watershed by Shannon1 ; CC BY-SA 4.0 , Link Free bottled water is coming up to 42,000 Stanislaus-area homes with tainted wells (John HOLLAND, Modesto   Bee ; April 19, 2021 https://www.modbee.com/news/business/agriculture/article250508234.html Selected Publications: Effect of Groundwater Age and Recharge Source on Nitrate Concentrations in Domestic Wells in the San Joaquin Valley (CASTALDO et al., 2021) https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.est.0c03071 Spatiotemporal variation of nitrate concentrations in soil and groundwater of an intensely polluted agricultural area (NAKAGAWA et al. , 2021) https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-82188-2 Groundwater development leads to decreasing arsenic concentrations in the San Joaquin Valley, California (HAUGEN et al. , 2021) https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969721002898 Measuring nitrate leaching across the critical zone at field to farm scale  (GUREVICH  et al. , 2020) htt...

Update: Congress Urged to Investigate Huge Wastewater Release, Threat of Catastrophic Collapse of Florida's Piney Point Phosphogypsum Stack   (Press Release, Center for Biological Diversity ; April 12, 2021) https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/congress-urged-to-investigate-huge-wastewater-release-threat-of-catastrophic-collapse-of-floridas-piney-point-phosphogypsum-stack-2021-04-12/ _______ Dumping of polluted wastewater from Piney Point continues.  DEP working to treat water (Zac ANDERSON and Jesse MENDOZA, Sarasota Herald-Tribune; April 7, 2021) https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/disaster/2021/04/07/suncoast-water-keeper-tampa-bay-water-keeper-say-florida-dep-failed-on-piney-point/7117166002/ USF Scientists testing the waters to study the effects of Piney Point Reservoir release (Leda ALVIM, The USF Oracle ; April 7, 2021) http://www.usforacle.com/2021/04/07/usf-scientists-testing-the-waters-to-study-effects-of-piney-point-reservoir-release/ Crews Dr...

Biogeochemical Iron Cycle, BeccaMGM ; CC BY-SA 4.0 , Link Potentially bioavailable iron produced through benthic cycling in glaciated Arctic fjords in Svalbard (LAUFER-MEISER et al. , 2021) https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-21558-w Research Website: The benthic biogeochemical iron cycle in Arctic fjords ( GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel ) https://www.geomar.de/en/research/fb2/fb2-mg/geomicrobiology/translate-to-english-fjord-projekt Topographic Map of Svalbard , Oona Räisänen ( Mysid ) ; CC BY-SA 4.0 , Link Also... How does glacial discharge affect Marine biogeochemistry and primary production in the Arctic ? (HOPWOOD et al ., 2020) https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/14/1347/2020/tc-14-1347-2020-discussion.html Glacial controls on redox-sensitive trace element cycling in Arctic fjords sediments (Spitsbergen, Svalbard) [HERBERT et al., 2020] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016703719307586

Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant Diagram by Sodacan ; CC BY-SA 3.0 , Link Fukushima disaster: What happened at the nuclear plant? (Asia News Desk, BBC News ; 10 March 2021) https://www.bbc.com/news/amp/world-asia-56252695#aoh=16154926006914&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&_tf=From%20%251%24s 10 years after Fukushima, safety is still nuclear power's greatest challenge (Kiyoshi KUROKAWA and Najmedin MESHKSTI, The Conversation UK ; March 5, 2021) https://theconversation.com/10-years-after-fukushima-safety-is-still-nuclear-powers-greatest-challenge-155541 Why cleaning Fukushima's damaged reactors will take another 30 years (Dennis NORMILE, Science ; March 4, 2021) https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/03/why-cleaning-fukushima-s-damaged-reactors-will-take-another-30-years Ten years after Fukushima:. Could new fuels make nuclear power safer? (Michael ALLEN, Physics World ; 23 February 2021) https://physicsworld.com/a/ten-years-after-fukushima-could-new-fu...

Bathymetric Map of the Arctic Ocean ( NOAA , Link ) New!   A subduction influence on ocean ridge basalts outside the Pacific subduction shield (YANG et al. , 2021) https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-25027-2 _______ Competing effects of spreading rate, crystal fractionation and source variability on Fe isotope systematics in mid-ocean ridge lavas (RICHTER et al. , 2021) https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-83387-7 An Early Cretaceous subduction modified mantle underneath the ultraslow spreading Gakkel Ridge, Arctic Ocean (RICHTER et al. , 2020) https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/44/eabb4340?utm_campaign=toc_advances_2020-10-30&et_rid=697909539&et_cid=3539464 Evidence for chemically heterogeneous Arctic mantle beneath the Gakkel Ridge   (D'ERRICO et al. , 2016) https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016703715006511 Geophysical characteristics of the ultraslow spreading Gakkel Ridge, Arctic Ocean   (JOKAT and SCHMIDT-AURSCH, 2007)...