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: 2011
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2011-01-01 至 2012-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=478495
• 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.

加拿大和美国的监管机构认为，对大湖区受污染的沉积物的修复是紧急的环境优先事项。已经确定了42个关注区域（AOC），其中重金属，碳氢化合物和一系列其他环境污染物将湖底沉积物污染到有毒水平。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。 McMaster研究人员Boyce和他的研究生正在通过开发基于磁性特性来绘制污染沉积物的新方法来协助修复工作。他们在安大略湖的初步工作表明，有毒的沉积物通常比干净的沉积物更高，并且可以通过拖曳磁力计在湖床上的磁力计来识别和映射。沉积物核心样品磁化的测量还可以提供对污染物水平的快速“代理”测量，而无需昂贵且耗时的化学测试。现在需要进一步的工作来开发污染监测的磁方法。在NSERC的支持下，Boyce及其团队计划研究如何将磁性颗粒和污染物转运到湖泊盆地，并开发新的污染源“磁性指印”方法。这项研究将导致在湖泊中绘制污染物的更快和有效的方法，并将加速持续的国际努力，以补救多个大湖区内几个严重污染的AOC中的沉积物。