Environmental Geochemistry in the Tropics

Description

Held in 1993 in Niterói, Brazil, the first International Conference on Environmental Geochemistry in Tropical Countries established a starting point for this book. The book opens with a discussion of the points that arose during the closing session, summarised by Dr. E.K. Duursma: TheEnvironment in the Tropics Remains Unknown. Most of the processes that occur in temperate environments turn out to be completely different in the tropics. This can already be seen in Chapter 3, where estimates of radionuclide transfer factors reach values considerably greater than in temperate areas. The utilisation of variables measured in temperate environments for modelling of the tropics can result in completely erroneous conclusions and, worse, inefficient remediation solutions. Trends in environmental geochemistry in tropical countries....Pages 1-5 Paleoclimate studies in Brazil using carbon isotopes in soils....Pages 7-16 Soil-to-plant transfer of 137 Cs related to its geochemical partitioning in Oxisols of tropical areas....Pages 17-28 Speciation, reactivity and mobility of toxic elements in soil systems....Pages 29-48 Key role of flow velocity and pH in the lixiviation of mineral-forming elements....Pages 49-61 Spatial distribution and seasonal patterns of aquatic emergent plants in Southeast Brazil: Development of a tool for mass balances....Pages 63-73 Instrumental multi-element analysis in plant materials: A modern method in environmental chemistry and tropical systems research....Pages 75-95 Chemistry and distribution of trace elements in the Patos lagoon, South Brazil....Pages 97-126 Mass balance estimation of natural and anthropogenic heavy metal fluxes in streams near the camaquã copper mines, Rio Grande do sul, Brazil....Pages 127-137 A model for geochemical partitioning of heavy metals in the mar del Plata coastal ecosystem, Argentina....Pages 139-148 Mangrove swamps of the Subaé and Paraguaçú tributary rivers of Todos os Santos Bay, Bahia, Brazil....Pages 149-156 Metal scavenging and cycling in a tropical coastal region....Pages 157-169 Mercury behaviour in sediments from a sub-tropical coastal environment in SE Brazil....Pages 171-184 Diagnosis of environmental problems related to vein gold mining in Colombia....Pages 185-191 Assessment of the heavy metal pollution in a gold “garimpo”....Pages 193-209 Mercury partitioning within alluvial sediments of the Carson river valley, Nevada: Implications for sampling strategies in tropical environments....Pages 211-233 Hydrogeochemical description of groundwaters from a coastal region of Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil....Pages 235-246 Long term atmospheric aerosol characterization in the Amazon Basin....Pages 247-272 Are tropical estuaries environmental sinks or sources?....Pages 273-294