Interfacial processes on mineral and rock surfaces: attenuation and release of contaminants and preservation of atmospheric processes

拟议的研究重点是在固体-水和固体-大气界面的环境过程，影响衰减，释放和保存的金属（类）在环境中。 受污染土壤和尾矿场的补救和复垦是加拿大最高的环境优先事项之一。补救战略通常包括同时使用肥料和石灰。在这些富含有机物、磷酸盐和类金属的土壤和尾矿设施中，矿物颗粒和有机材料上的表面涂层控制（除其他因素外）类金属的命运。这些土壤和尾矿中的颗粒和植物根系的表面将使用多分析方法进行检查，该方法可以为我们提供有关修复土壤和尾矿中纳米至微米尺度的化学过程的信息。 裸露岩石上的涂层通常是固体-大气界面过程的产物。缓慢生长的岩石涂层可以作为更新世和全新世气候变化的指标，而在冶炼厂和其他点源周围形成的涂层则是近期大气污染的记录。加拿大东部冶炼厂周围涂层的比较研究将深入了解大气中含有汞、砷、硒、铅、铜、镍和镉的物质的形态和沉积速率。加拿大北极地区暴露的基岩和相对干燥的条件表明，岩石涂层的广泛存在，可用于推断大气污染物的起源和向北方输送的路径。对梅尔维尔岛和魁北克北部北方的拉格兰矿附近的岩石涂层的研究将使我们了解加拿大北极地区的岩石涂层是否可以用作温度变化和大气污染的指标。

The proposed research focuses on environmental processes at the solid-water and solid-atmosphere interfaces that affect the attenuation, release and preservation of metal(loid)s in the environment. Remediation and reclamation of contaminated soils and mine tailings sites is one of the highest environmental priorities in Canada. Remediation strategies commonly include the simultaneous use of fertilizers and lime. Surface coatings on mineral grains and organic material in these organic, phosphate and metal(loid)-rich soils and tailings facilities control (among other factors) the fate of metal(loid)s. The surfaces of grains and plant roots in these soils and tailings will be examined using a multi-analytical approach that can give us information about chemical processes at the nano- to micrometer scale in remediated soils and tailings. Coatings on exposed rocks are most commonly products of processes at the solid-atmosphere interface. Slow-growing rock coatings can be indicators of climatic change in the Pleistocene and Holocene, whereas coatings formed around smelters and other point sources are records of recent atmospheric pollution. A comparative study of coatings around smelters in Eastern Canada will give insight into the speciation and deposition rate of atmospheric species containing Mercury, Arsenic, Selenium, Lead, Copper, Nickel and Cadmium. Exposed bedrock and relative dry conditions in the Canadian Arctic suggest the widespread occurrence of rock coatings that could be used to deduce the origin and transport paths of atmospheric pollutants to the North. The study of coatings on Melville Island and proximal to the Raglan mine, Northern Quebec will give us an idea whether rock coatings in the Canadian Arctic can be used as indicators for temperature variation and atmospheric pollution.