The 2019 Brumadinho tailings dam collapse: Possible cause and impacts of the worst human and environmental disaster in Brazil     

《International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation》2020

On 25th January 2019, the tailings dam of the Brumadinho iron mine operated by Vale S/A failed catastrophically. The death toll stood at 259 and 11 people remained missing as of January 2020. This tragedy occurred three years after Mariana’s tailings dam rupture – the most significant tailing dam disaster in Brazilian history. Thus far, a systematic investigation on the cause and effect of the failure has yet to be conducted. Here, we use satellite-driven soil moisture index, multispectral high-resolution imagery and Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) products to assess pre-disaster scenarios and the direct causes of the tailings dam collapse. A decreasing trend in the moisture content at the surface and the full evanescence of pond water through time (2011–2019) suggest that the water was gradually penetrating the fill downwards and caused the seepage erosion, saturating the tailings dam. Large-scale slumping of the dam (extensional failure) upon the rupture indicates that the materials of the fill were already saturated. InSAR measurements reveal a dramatic, up to 30 cm subsidence in the dam (at the rear part) within the past 12 months before the dam collapse, signifying that the sediments had been removed from the fill. Although the information on the resistance level of the tailings dam to infiltrations is not available, these pieces of evidence collectively indicate that the seepage erosion (piping) is the primary cause for the chronic weakening of the structure and, hence, the internal “liquefaction” condition. Upon the collapse, the fully saturated mud tailings flowed down the gentle slope area (3.13 × 10⁶ m²), where 73 % were originally covered by tree, grass or agricultural tracts. The toxic mud eventually reached the Paraopeba River after travelling 10 km, abruptly increasing the suspended particulate matter (SPM) concentration and the toxic chemical elements in the river, immediately affecting the local livelihoods that depend on its water. The Paraopeba River is a major tributary of the San Francisco River, the second-longest river in Brazil reaching the Atlantic Ocean. We anticipate that the environmental repercussions of this toxic seepage will be felt throughout the entire basin, especially riverine communities located downstream.  相似文献   

Cover crops and precipitation influence soluble reactive phosphorus losses via tile drain discharge in an agricultural watershed     

Matt T. Trentman  Jennifer L. Tank  Todd V. Royer  Shannon L. Speir  Ursula H. Mahl  Lienne R. Sethna 《水文研究》2020,34(23):4446-4458

Subsurface tile drainage speeds water removal from agricultural fields that are historically prone to flooding. While managed drainage systems improve crop yields, they can also contribute tothe eutrophication of downstream ecosystems, as tile-drained systems are conduits for nutrients to adjacent waterways. The changing climate of the Midwestern US has already altered precipitation regimes which will likely continue into the future, with unknown effects on tile drain water and nutrient loss to waterways. Adding vegetative cover (i.e., as winter cover crops) is one approach that can retain water and nutrients on fields to minimize export via tile drains. In the current study, we evaluate the effect of cover crops on tile drain discharge and soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) loads using bi-monthly measurements from 43 unique tile outlets draining fields with or without cover crops in two watersheds in northern Indiana. Using four water years of data (n = 844 measurements), we examined the role of short-term antecedent precipitation conditions and variation in soil biogeochemistry in mediating the effect of cover crops on tile drain flow and SRP loads. We observed significant effects of cover crops on both tile drain discharge and SRP loads, but these results were season and watershed specific. Cover crop effects were identified only in spring, where their presence reduced tile drain discharge in both watersheds and SRP loads in one watershed. Varying effects on SRP loads between watersheds were attributed to different soil biogeochemical characteristics, where soils with lower bioavailable P and higher P sorption capacity were less likely to have a cover crop effect. Antecedent precipitation was important in spring, and cover crop differences were still evident during periods of wet and dry antecedent precipitation conditions. Overall, we show that cover crops have the potential to significantly decrease spring tile drain P export, and these effects are resilient to a wide range of precipitation conditions.  相似文献   

波浪作用下沉积物中氮、磷释放速率的试验研究     

张严严  房文艳  许国辉  任宇鹏  许兴北 《中国海洋大学学报(自然科学版)》2020,50(4):102-110

湖泊或海湾中的沉积物吸附氮(N)、磷(P)等元素所形成的沉积层成为水体富营养化的內源。在波浪作用下,尤其是强浪作用下,沉积物中的N、P会通过内源释放作用大量进入水体中。本文在自制的U型水槽中开展实验,采用不同水头差来模拟波浪的循环荷载作用,研究了沉积层中的N、P在静置固结状态(Ⅰ)、加波未液化状态(Ⅱ)、加波液化状态(Ⅲ)下的释放规律,并给出该试验条件下的沉积物释放速率的拟合方程。试验结果表明:沉积物中总氮(TN)和溶解性总氮(TDN)的释放速率会随着水动力作用的增强而增加;总磷(TP)、溶解性总磷(TDP)和活性磷酸盐(SRP)的释放速率也随着水动力作用增强而增加,但水体中悬浮物(SS)含量过高会限制其释放速率。  相似文献   

臭氧及臭氧类高级氧化技术降解甲基对硫磷的效能          下载免费PDF全文

林存旺  许珊珊  项丰云  章小芳 《海洋开发与管理》2018,35(9):94-99

文章研究了臭氧及臭氧类高级氧化技术(AOPs-O3)在不同pH条件下降解甲基对硫磷(MP)的效能。结果表明,在pH 3~10的条件下(反应过程控制pH),单独臭氧化5min即可完全降解MP,但不同pH下化学耗氧量(COD)和有机磷的释放率差异明显。在pH为3.3,7.5和9.4的条件下单独臭氧30min后COD的去除率分别为55.17%,89.64%和93.10%,有机磷的释放率分别为16.33%,95.00%和99.99%。考虑酸性条件下可以规避碳酸盐的负面影响(特别是高浓度废水),利用O3/H2O2/Ti(IV)在pH 3.3条件下处理MP溶液,COD去除率和有机磷释放率分别达到89.64%和81.57%。相对法计算求得MP与O3和羟基自由基(·OH)的速率常数分别为31.98L·(mol·s)-1和7.488×109 L·(mol·s)-1。活性污泥法的测试结果表明,MP经O3/Ti(IV)/H2O2(pH=3.3)和O3(pH=9.4)可提升含MP废水的可生化性,但与培养液体系相比仍具有一定的毒性。  相似文献   

Effects of Solid Organic Wastes on Soil Particulate Organic Carbon Structure Under Different Water Conditions     

Xiaojing Qu  Jinggui Wu  Jinghong Zhao  Jianming Li  Juan Hu  Opoku‐Kwanowaa Yaa 《洁净——土壤、空气、水》2019,47(8)

  相似文献   

微小亚历山大藻(Alexandrium minutum)的氮磷吸收、生长、产毒动态变化     

俞群娣  王亚军  余新威  刘寅政  李叶  方力  陈成吉  罗红宇 《海洋与湖沼》2018,49(2):346-351

采用浮游植物计数法、高效液相色谱串联质谱法、分光光度法等分析方法,探索了微小亚历山大藻(Alexandrium minutum)在批次培养过程中氮磷吸收、产毒、生物量、p H等参数的动态变化关系。结果表明,微小亚历山大藻对磷的吸收迅速,可以将磷储存于体内,待生长使用。该藻对氮的吸收相对缓慢,环境中氮缺乏时,产毒量不再增加,说明氮对产毒有着重要的调控作用。在第二对数期中出现了碳限制环境,导致叶绿素a在碳限制条件下无法表征藻的生物量,相反,叶绿素a和生物量呈负线性关系,可能是叶绿素转化成其它含碳物质,用于生长。毒素不仅存在于细胞体内,培养液中(胞外)也含有毒素,并且胞外毒素从稳定期开始逐渐升高。胞内毒素的组成中GTX1/4占据绝对优势,GTX2/3含量相对较少。生长延缓期和第一对数期,各种毒素组成比例相对稳定,而在随后的生长期内,GTX1/4在总毒素中的占比逐渐上升,GTX2/3占比逐渐下降,表明微小亚历山大藻毒素组成会随着生长周期的变化而发生变化。  相似文献   

Influence of land use on the persistence effect of riverine phosphorus          下载免费PDF全文

Dingjiang Chen  Fang Xia  Xu Shang  YuanYuan Liu  Randy A. Dahlgren  Kun Mei 《水文研究》2018,32(1):118-125

The persistence effect contribution of legacy nutrients is often cited as a reason for little or no improvement in water quality following extensive implementation of watershed nutrient mitigation actions, yet there is limited knowledge concerning factors influencing this response, often called the “persistence effect.” Here, we adopted detrended fluctuation analysis and Spearman analysis methods to assess the influence of land use on the watershed phosphorus (P) persistence effect, using monthly water quality records during 2010–2016 in 13 catchments within a drinking water reservoir watershed in eastern China. Detrended fluctuation analysis was used to calculate the Hurst exponent α to assess watershed legacy P characteristics (α  ≈ 0.5, α  > 0.5, and α  < 0.5 indicate white noise, persistence, and anti‐persistence, respectively). Results showed weak to strong P persistence (0.60–0.81) in the time series of riverine P in the 13 catchments. The Hurst exponent α had negative relationships with agricultural land (R = ?.47, p = .11) and developed land (R = ?.67, p = .01) and a positive relationship with forest land cover (R = .48, p = .10). The persistence effect of riverine P was mainly determined by retention ability (biogeochemical legacy) and migration efficiency (hydrological legacy). A catchment with strong retention capacity (e.g., biomass uptake/storage and soil PO₄ sorption) and low migration efficiency results in a stronger persistence effect for riverine P. In practice, source control is more effective in catchments with weak persistence, whereas sink control (e.g., riparian buffers and wetlands) is preferred in catchments with strong persistence effects.  相似文献   

Impacts of Aerosol-Radiation Interactions on the Wintertime Particulate Pollution under Different Synoptic Patterns in the Guanzhong Basin,China     

Naifang BEI  Xia LI  Qiyuan WANG  Suixin LIU  Jiarui WU  Jiayi LIANG  Lang LIU  Ruonan WANG  Guohui LI 《大气科学进展》2021,38(7):1141-1152

The effects of aerosol–radiation interactions(ARI) are not only important for regional and global climate, but they can also drive particulate matter(PM) pollution. In this study, the ARI contribution to the near-surface fine PM(PM2.5)concentrations in the Guanzhong Basin(GZB) is evaluated under four unfavorable synoptic patterns, including "northlow", "transition", "southeast-trough", and "inland-high", based on WRF-Chem model simulations of a persistent heavy PM pollution episode in January 2019. Simulations show that ARI consistently decreases both solar radiation reaching down to the surface(SWDOWN) and surface temperature(TSFC), which then reduces wind speed, induces sinking motion,and influences cloud formation in the GZB. However, large differences under the four synoptic patterns still exist. The average reductions of SWDOWN and daytime TSFC in the GZB range from 15.2% and 1.04°C in the case of the"transition" pattern to 26.7% and 1.69°C in the case of the "north-low" pattern, respectively. Furthermore, ARI suppresses the development of the planetary boundary layer(PBL), with the decrease of PBL height(PBLH) varying from 18.7% in the case of the "transition" pattern to 32.0% in the case of the "north-low" pattern. The increase of daytime near-surface PM2.5 in the GZB due to ARI is 12.0%, 8.1%, 9.5%, and 9.7% under the four synoptic patterns, respectively. Ensemble analyses also reveal that when near-surface PM2.5 concentrations are low, ARI tends to lower PM2.5 concentrations with decreased PBLH, which is caused by enhanced divergence or a transition from divergence to convergence in an area. ARI contributes 15%–25% toward the near-surface PM2.5 concentrations during the severe PM pollution period under the four synoptic patterns.  相似文献   

安徽省大气颗粒物污染特征分析     

易明建  邓淑梅  汪水兵  卫尤文  戴海夏 《地球化学》2021,50(1):36-45

对2016年全年颗粒物监测浓度数据进行统计分析,得到了安徽省颗粒物污染的空间分布、浓度和粒径,以及污染传输特征。结果表明,淮河以北、沿江和江淮之间、长江以南和皖南山区城市颗粒物污染随地理位置不同表现出明显的区域化特征,污染程度由北向南减轻,污染过程明显表现出由北向南逐步扩散传输的规律,污染程度越重,污染深入南方的范围越广,持续时间也越长。冬季污染较重的城市,上午出现明显的高浓度时段,全天变化为“双峰双谷”型。夏、秋季节夜间细颗粒物(PM2.5)浓度贡献比增加。PM2.5与PM10(可吸入颗粒物)质量浓度比值冬季最高,春季较低。污染重的城市冬季PM2.5占比高。  相似文献   

广东雷州半岛土壤氮、磷、钾元素地球化学特征及其土壤肥力评价          下载免费PDF全文

汪实  朱鑫  黎旭荣  罗思亮 《中国地质》2021,48(4):1177-1187

广东雷州半岛位于中国大陆最南端,是中国菠萝、香蕉、甘蔗等农产品重要产地。土壤氮、磷、钾等养分是作物生长需要最多的营养元素,对农业发展至关重要。文章通过对雷州半岛土壤取样,首次对该地区土壤氮磷钾的背景特征进行了分析,研究了不同成土母质、不同土地利用类型氮磷钾的含量水平,探讨了氮磷钾人为影响因素和时空演化规律,并进行了土壤肥力评价。研究发现,雷州半岛土壤中氮、磷、钾分布受地质背景制约,并受人为活动干扰强烈,氮、磷受人类活动影响显著,钾受人为扰动程度较轻。与20世纪90年代相比,表层土壤磷元素含量增幅较大,钾元素含量与前期相当。土壤肥力评价结果表明,雷州半岛土壤富磷,缺钾,局部缺氮。  相似文献