Quantification of nitrate fluxes to groundwater and rivers from different land use types

Nitrate enters aquatic systems from anthropogenic and natural sources affecting drinking water supply and surface water eutrophication. Conventional hydro-chemical measurements have been used together with the geographic information system (GIS) and stable isotopes techniques to track nitrate origin, sources distribution and quantify their fluxes from various land use types to ground and surface waters in East Ukraine. Average fluxes of nitrate in groundwater are estimated at 356 kg year-1 km-2 from settlements (mostly rural), 214 kg year-1 km-2 – from agricultural lands and 73 kg year-1 km-2 – from forested areas. According to the mass balance estimation, nitrogen input (150 kg year-1 km-2) occurs mainly in the upper part of the Seversky Donets River basin and is attributed to the discharge of untreated municipal wastewater to rivers as well as groundwater contamination by leaking septic tanks and pit latrines from residential areas

Monitoring and flux determination of trace metals in rivers of the Seversky Donets basin (Ukraine) using DGT passive samplers

International audienceThis paper reports the results of the in situ application of diffusive gradients in thin-films (DGT) passive samplers for trace metals (Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn) monitoring in transboundary Udy and Lopan rivers of the Seversky Donets watershed in the Kharkiv region (Ukraine), which has a long history of industrial development. The research discusses potential sources of DGT-measured labile metals in water and seasonal variations. Our results demonstrate the application of DGT for identifying and measuring labile metal concentrations in contrasted climate conditions (cold snowy winter and hot summer) and appropriateness of such a tool for continuous water monitoring with the presence of an ice cover. Results show that DGT-measured concentrations of most of trace metals were much higher downstream of the wastewater treatment plants discharges than upstream; thus wastewater treatment plants seemed not able to reduce or to remove trace metals' contaminations and become major sources of pollutants in the studied rivers. The calculation of the average metal fluxes based on the DGT-measured concentrations confirmed that the urban wastewater discharges significantly contribute to the metal fluxes into the Udy and the Lopan rivers during both low-flow and high-flow periods. Compared to the wastewaters inputs to the rivers, the transboundary effect is limited, but should be taken into account as the origin of some metals is from sources located on the adjacent Russian territory

Distribution of trace elements in waters and sediments of the Seversky Donets transboundary watershed (Kharkiv region, Eastern Ukraine)

International audienceThis paper reports on the aquatic chemistry of trace elements in terms of spatial and temporal distribution, but also pollution sources in the transboundary watershed of the Seversky Donets River (Ukraine/Russia). Bed sediments and filtered water were collected from the Udy and Lopan Rivers at sites from the river source in the Belgorod region (Russia) to rural and urban areas in the Kharkiv region (Ukraine) in May and August 2009. Priority trace elements (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb and Zn), an urban tracer (Ag) and additional metals (Co, Mo, V) and Th were measured in stream water and sediments. The low levels and variability of Th-normalized concentrations indicated the absence of geochemical anomalies in the upstream part of the rivers and suggested that these data represent a regional baseline for trace elements in bed sediments. In contrast, water and sediments within the city of Kharkiv were contaminated by Ag, Pb, Cd, Cu, Cr and Zn, which are mainly attributed to municipal wastewater inputs and urban run-off. Results of the environmental quality assessment showed that element concentrations in the sediments can be considered as potentially toxic to aquatic organisms in sites downstream of the wastewater discharges

General relativity effects in precision spin experimental tests of fundamental symmetries

A search for the $P$- and $CP(T)$-violating electric dipole moments (EDM) of atoms, particles and nuclei with sensitivity up to $10^{-15}$ in units of magnetic dipole moments, allowed by all discrete symmetries, is one of the topical problems of modern physics. According to Sakharov, $CP$-violation is one of the three key criteria of baryogenesis in generally accepted paradigm of the Big Bang cosmology. All three criteria are supported by the Standard Model (SM), but it fails to describe the observed baryon asymmetry of the Universe. This is regarded a strong argument in favor of existence of $CP$-symmetry breaking mechanisms beyond minimal SM, which can lead to measurable EDMs of atoms, particles and nuclei. Direct searches for EDM of charged particles and nuclei are possible only in storage rings (COSY, NICA). After successful studies by the JEDI collaboration at the COSY synchrotron, at the forefront is a search for the proton EDM in an electrostatic storage ring with the proton spin frozen at the magic energy with projected sensitivity $d_p\sim 10^{-29}\,e\cdot$cm. Following a brief introduction to the $CP$-violation physics and the baryogenesis, the review presents a detailed discussion of significant contributions to the spin dynamics from the terrestrial gravity along with the new effects of Earth's rotation in ultrasensitive searches for the EDM of charged particles and neutrons. Quite remarkably, for the projected sensitivity to the proton EDM, these false EDM effects can by one to two orders of magnitude exceed the signal of the proton EDM, and become comparable to an EDM contribution in experiments with ultracold neutrons. We also discuss the role of a precessing spin as a detector of the axion-like dark matter, and consider applications of the quantum gravitational anomalies to the dense matter hydrodynamics and the spin phenomena in the non-central nuclear collisions.Comment: 47 pages, no figures, Revtex, minor editing with misprints removed, accepted for publication in Physics-Uspekh

Pharmaceuticals in Rivers of Two Regions with Contrasted Socio-Economic Conditions: Occurrence, Accumulation, and Comparison for Ukraine and France

International audienceThe goal of our study was to identify pharmaceuticals, their potential sources and consumption level in two different socioeconomic and geographical regions--Bordeaux, France and Kharkiv, Ukraine. These substances were monitored in rivers water during contrasted seasonal conditions with application of passive samplers. The 21 pharmaceuticals (psychiatric drugs: alprazolam, amitriptyline, diazepam, fluoxetine, nordiazepam, carbamazepine, bromazepam; analgesics: aspirin, paracetamol; broncholidator: clenbuterol, salbutamol, terbutaline; non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug: diclofenac, ibuprofen, ketoprofen, naproxen; lipid regulator: gemfibrozil; stimulants: caffeine, theophylline) were identified in sites upstream and downstream of urban areas and discharge of wastewaters. Caffeine, carbamazepine, and diclofenac were relatively abundant into the surface water and could be considered as potential anthropogenic markers of wastewater discharges into rivers. A mass balance modeling has been applied to calculate approximate consumption rates for carbamazepine, diclofenac, and caffeine in both regions to assess socio-economic factors linked with pharmaceuticals behavior