Assessment of contaminant loadings in lake sediments using magnetic property measurements

使用磁特性测量评估湖泊沉积物中的污染物含量

• 批准号: 227508-2009
• 负责人: Boyce, Joseph
• 金额: $ 1.46万
• 依托单位: McMaster University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2012
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2012-01-01 至 2013-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=497016
• 关键词: Assessment; contaminant; loadings; lake; sediments

The remediation of contaminated sediments in the Great Lakes is recognized by Canadian and US regulatory agencies as an urgent environmental priority. 42 Areas of Concern (AOC's) have been identified where lake-bottom sediments are contaminated to toxic levels by heavy metals, hydrocarbons and a range of other environmental pollutants. Once buried in sediments, these contaminants can persist for many decades and pose a serious long-term threat to human health and aquatic ecosystems. McMaster researcher Boyce and his graduate students are assisting in remediation efforts by developing new methods for mapping contaminated sediments based on their magnetic properties. Their preliminary work in Lake Ontario has shown that toxic sediments are often more highly magnetized than clean sediments and can be identified and mapped by towing a magnetic sensing device called a magnetometer above the lakebed. Measurement of the magnetization of sediment core samples can also provide rapid 'proxy' measurements of pollutant levels without the need for expensive and time-consuming chemical testing. Further work is now required to develop magnetic methods for pollution monitoring. With NSERC's support, Boyce and his team plan to investigate how magnetic particles and contaminants are transported into lake basins and to develop new methods for 'magnetic finger-printing' of pollution sources. The research will lead to a more rapid and effective approach for mapping contaminants in lakes and will accelerate ongoing international efforts to remediate sediments in several heavily polluted AOC's within the Great Lakes.

加拿大和美国监管机构将五大湖受污染沉积物的修复视为紧迫的环境优先事项。已确定 42 个关注区域 (AOC)，其中湖底沉积物受到重金属、碳氢化合物和一系列其他环境污染物的污染达到有毒水平。一旦埋在沉积物中，这些污染物可能会持续数十年，并对人类健康和水生生态系统构成严重的长期威胁。麦克马斯特大学研究员博伊斯和他的研究生正在开发根据受污染沉积物的磁性绘制地图​​的新方法，以协助修复工作。他们在安大略湖的初步工作表明，有毒沉积物通常比干净的沉积物磁化程度更高，可以通过在湖床上拖曳一个称为磁力计的磁传感设备来识别和绘制地图。沉积物岩心样品磁化强度的测量还可以提供污染物水平的快速“代理”测量，而无需进行昂贵且耗时的化学测试。现在需要进一步的工作来开发用于污染监测的磁性方法。在 NSERC 的支持下，博伊斯和他的团队计划研究磁性颗粒和污染物如何进入湖盆，并开发污染源“磁性指纹”的新方法。这项研究将带来一种更快速、更有效的方法来绘制湖泊污染物图，并将加速国际社会正在进行的修复五大湖内几个严重污染的 AOC 沉积物的努力。