Terrestrial environment

The combined influences of runoff generation mechanisms, runoff flowpaths, and soil properties together control runoff chemistry. In spite of the wide range of interactions that characterize terrestrial environments, a few broad generalities can be offered, as the chemical composition of streamflow typically contains... 

Insufficient information is available to assess risk to the terrestrial environment. 

Deines, P. 1980 The isotopic composition of reduced organic carbon. In Fritz, P. and Fontes, J. Ch., eds.. Handbook of Environmental Isotope Geochemistry, Vol. 1 The Terrestrial Environment, A. Amsterdam, Elsevier 329-406. 

Jensen J. 1996. Chlorophenols in the terrestrial environment. Rev Environ Contam Toxicol 146 25-51. 

Although chemical transformations in the atmosphere may seem peripheral to this discussion, these reactions should be considered since their products may subsequently enter the aquatic and terrestrial environments the persistence and the toxicity of these secondary products are therefore relevant to this discussion. 

The products of incomplete combustion may be associated with particulate matter before their discharge into the atmosphere, and these may ultimately enter the aquatic and terrestrial environments in the form of precipitation and dry deposition. It is therefore essential to ensure total destruction of the contaminants, generally by raising the temperature. The spectrum of compounds that have been examined is quite extensive, and several of them are produced by reactions between hydrocarbons and inorganic sulfur or nitrogen constituents of air. Some illustrative examples involving other types of reaction include the following ... 

These may involve both the original componnd and its metabolites produced by biological reactions. This mechanism has wide implications, and has been most extensively documented in the terrestrial environment. 

A study with a strain of plasmid-bome antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli indicated that the strain did not transmit these plasmids to indigenous strains after introduction into the terrestrial environment (Devanas et al. 1986). 

Extensive studies on the effect of substrate concentration and on the bioavailability of the substrate to the appropriate microorganisms have employed samples of natural lake water supplemented with suitable nutrients. There are few additional details that need to be added since the experimental methods are straightforward and present no particular difficulties. Considerable use has also been made of a comparable methodology to determine the fate of agrochemicals in the terrestrial environment. 

Derivatives of 1,3,5-triazine are important herbicides so that attention has been directed to their persistence particularly in the terrestrial environment. In some experiments when a growth substrate was supplied, they have been used as sources of nitrogen or sulfur ... 

The terrestrial environment is highly heterogeneous, so that representative sampling generally presents a serious problem, and the evaluation of spatial effectiveness is difficult... 

Chlorinated dioxins occur in atmospheric deposition (Koester and Hites 1992), and will thereby enter the terrestrial environment and watercourses. The degradation of tetrachloro- through octa-chlorodibenzo[l,4]dioxins has been examined in low-nitrogen medium by Phanerochaete sor-dida YK-624 (Takada et al. 1996). All the compounds were extensively degraded, and the ring fission of 2,3,7,8-tetra- and octachlorodibenzo[l,4]dioxin produced 4,5-di- and tetrachlorocatechol. These results established important evidence for the biodegradability of even highly chlorinated dibenzodioxins. 

Biochemical reactions parallel those in organic chemistry and, for both of them, a mechanistic approach has proved valuable. In addition, most of the principles that have emerged apply equally to the aquatic, the atmospheric, and the terrestrial environments. 

USEPA] US Enviromnental Protection Agency. 2002. Proceedings and summary report, workshop on the fate, transport, and transformation of mercury in aquatic and terrestrial environments. EPA/USGS workshop 2001 May 8-10 West Pahn Beach, FL, USA. USEPA Office of Research and Development. EPA/625/R-02/005. 171 p. 

The CO2 concentrations of present-day geothermal waters in terrestrial environment have been also interpreted in terms of the interaction of hydrothermal solutions with country rocks (Giggenbach, 1981 Shikazono, 1978,1985). For example, as noted in section 2.4.3, Shikazono (1985) estimated /CO2 for epithermal Au-Ag and base-metal vein-type deposits in Japan which formed in terrestrial environments at Miocene-Pliocene age and showed that fco2 controlled by the alteration minerals (Fig. 3.6). Estimated /coi" temperature range for epithermal Cu-Pb-Zn vein-type deposits are clearly similar to those for the Kuroko and back-arc deposits in which base metals (Cu, Pb, Zn) are concentrated. 

Fritz P, Fontz JCh, eds. (1980) Handbook of Environmental Isotope Geochemistry. Vol i The terrestrial Environment A, Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, Amsterdam, 532 pp. 

Environmental Isotope Geochemistry Vol 2 The Terrestrial Environment. Fritz P,... 

The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI 1981) conducted a survey of transuranic radionuclides in the terrestrial environs of nuclear power plants in the United States in 1978-1979. The plants included two pressurized water reactors (PWRs) and two BWRs that were of modem design and had been in operation at least 3 years. The 241 Am air concentrations around all of the power plants were extremely low and indistinguishable from fallout background... 

EPRI. 1981. Transuranium and other long-lived radionuclides in the terrestrial environs of nuclear power plants. Battelie Pacific Northwest Laboratories. EA-2045. Research Project 1059. Illinois State Library. 

In summary, improper e-waste recycling operations are the major contributors of dioxin and dioxin-like compounds to the terrestrial environment in China [7]. The lower concentrations of dioxin and dioxin-like compounds at reference sites than at e-waste recycling sites suggest the likelihood for these chemicals to transport atmospherically from where they are generated to distant areas. We can also infer that dioxin and dioxin-like compounds initially derived from burning of e-waste can enter ambient air and dust and finally deposit into soil. This notion is supported by the significant positive correlation between the levels of PCDD/Fs in dust and soil samples from Taizhou. 

Adriano D.C. Trace Elements in the Terrestrial Environment. New York Springer, 1986 and 2001. 

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