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Acid Volatile Sulfide
Simultaneously extracted metals/Acid-volatile sulfide (SEM-AVS) is an approach used in the field of aquatic toxicology to assess the potential for metal ions found in sediment to cause toxic effects in organisms dwelling in the sediment. In this approach, the amounts of several heavy metals in a sediment sample are measured in a laboratory; at the same time, the amount of acid-volatile sulfide (sulfide which can be liberated from the sediment by treatment with hydrochloric acid) is determined. Based on the chemical interactions between heavy metals (SEM) and acid-volatile sulfide (AVS), the concentrations of these two components can be used to assess the potential for toxicity to sediment-dwelling organisms. Background Metals A number of heavy metals, such as cadmium and lead, are toxic to various forms of life, particularly when dissolved in water as metal ions. Toxic heavy metals are often present in surface water as a result of natural processes, such as the weathering of m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aquatic Toxicology
Aquatic toxicology is the study of the effects of manufactured chemicals and other anthropogenic and natural materials and activities on aquatic organisms at various levels of organization, from subcellular through individual organisms to communities and ecosystems. Aquatic toxicology is a multidisciplinary field which integrates toxicology, aquatic ecology and aquatic chemistry. This field of study includes freshwater, marine water and sediment environments. Common tests include standardized acute and chronic toxicity tests lasting 24–96 hours (acute test) to 7 days or more (chronic tests). These tests measure endpoints such as survival, growth, reproduction, that are measured at each concentration in a gradient, along with a control test. Typically using selected organisms with ecologically relevant sensitivity to toxicants and a well-established literature background. These organisms can be easily acquired or cultured in lab and are easy to handle. History While basic re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sorption
Sorption is a physical and chemical process by which one substance becomes attached to another. Specific cases of sorption are treated in the following articles: ; Absorption: "the incorporation of a substance in one state into another of a different state" (e.g., liquids being absorbed by a solid or gases being absorbed by a liquid); ; Adsorption: The physical adherence or bonding of ions and molecules onto the surface of another phase (e.g., reagents adsorbed to a solid catalyst surface); ; Ion exchange: An exchange of ions between two electrolytes or between an electrolyte solution and a complex. The reverse of sorption is desorption. Sorption rate The adsorption and absorption rate of a diluted solute in gas or liquid solution to a surface or interface can be calculated using Fick's laws of diffusion Fick's laws of diffusion describe diffusion and were first posited by Adolf Fick in 1855 on the basis of largely experimental results. They can be used to solve for the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Water Framework Directive
The Water Framework Directive (WFD; 2000/60/EC) is an EU directive to establish a framework for the protection of all water bodies (including marine waters up to one nautical mile from shore) by 2015. The WFD establishes a programme and timetable for Member States to set up river basin management plans by 2009. The Directive's aim is for all water bodies in EU member states to achieve "good status", with 47% of EU water bodies covered by the Directive failing this standard. Objectives of the Directive The Directive aims for "good status" for all ground and surface waters (rivers, lakes, transitional waters, and coastal waters) in the EU. The purpose of the WFD is to prevent deterioration of the water bodies, enhance status of aquatic ecosystems, reduce pollution from priority substances, promote sustainable water use and contribute to mitigate the effects of floods and droughts. The ecological and chemical status of surface waters are assessed according to the following c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Benthic Fauna
Benthos (), also known as benthon, is the community of organisms that live on, in, or near the bottom of a sea, river, lake, or stream, also known as the benthic zone.Benthos from the Census of Antarctic Marine Life website This community lives in or near marine or freshwater sedimentary environments, from s along the , out to the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Toxicology Testing
Toxicology testing, also known as safety assessment, or toxicity testing, is the process of determining the degree to which a substance of interest negatively impacts the normal biological functions of an organism, given a certain exposure duration, route of exposure, and substance concentration. Toxicology testing is often conducted by researchers who follow established toxicology test protocols for a certain substance, mode of exposure, exposure environment, duration of exposure, a particular organism of interest, or for a particular developmental stage of interest. Toxicology testing is commonly conducted during preclinical development for a substance intended for human exposure. Stages of ''in silico'', ''in vitro'' and ''in vivo'' research are conducted to determine safe exposure doses in model organisms. If necessary, the next phase of research involves human toxicology testing during a first-in-man study. Toxicology testing may be conducted by the pharmaceutical industry ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ICP-MS
Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) is a type of mass spectrometry that uses an inductively coupled plasma to ionize the sample. It atomizes the sample and creates atomic and small polyatomic ions, which are then detected. It is known and used for its ability to detect metals and several non-metals in liquid samples at very low concentrations. It can detect different isotopes of the same element, which makes it a versatile tool in isotopic labeling. Compared to atomic absorption spectroscopy, ICP-MS has greater speed, precision, and sensitivity. However, compared with other types of mass spectrometry, such as thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS) and glow discharge mass spectrometry (GD-MS), ICP-MS introduces many interfering species: argon from the plasma, component gases of air that leak through the cone orifices, and contamination from glassware and the cones. Components Inductively coupled plasma An inductively coupled plasma is a plasma th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atomic Absorption Spectrometry
Atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) is a spectro-analytical procedure for the quantitative measurement of chemical elements. AAS is based on the absorption of light by free metallic ions that have been atomized from a sample. An alternative technique is atomic emission spectroscopy (AES). In analytical chemistry, the technique is used for determining the concentration of a particular element (the analyte) in a sample to be analyzed. AAS can be used to determine over 70 different elements in solution, or directly in solid samples via electrothermal vaporization, and is used in pharmacology, biophysics, archaeology and toxicology research. Atomic emission spectroscopy (AAS) was first used as an analytical technique, and the underlying principles were established in the second half of the 19th century by Robert Wilhelm Bunsen and Gustav Robert Kirchhoff, both professors at the University of Heidelberg, Germany. The modern form of AAS was largely developed during the 1950s by a t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ICP-AES
Inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES), also referred to as inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES), is an analytical technique used for the detection of chemical elements. It is a type of emission spectroscopy that uses the inductively coupled plasma to produce excited atoms and ions that emit electromagnetic radiation at wavelengths characteristic of a particular element. The plasma is a high temperature source of ionised source gas (often argon). The plasma is sustained and maintained by inductive coupling from electrical coils at megahertz frequencies. The source temperature is in the range from 6000 to 10,000 K. The intensity of the emissions from various wavelengths of light are proportional to the concentrations of the elements within the sample. Mechanism The ICP-AES is composed of two parts: the ICP and the optical spectrometer. The ICP torch consists of 3 concentric quartz glass tubes. The output or "work" coil of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Analytical Chemistry
Analytical skill, Analytical chemistry studies and uses instruments and methods to Separation process, separate, identify, and Quantification (science), quantify matter. In practice, separation, identification or quantification may constitute the entire analysis or be combined with another method. Separation isolates analytes. Qualitative inorganic analysis, Qualitative analysis identifies analytes, while Quantitative analysis (chemistry), quantitative analysis determines the numerical amount or concentration. Analytical chemistry consists of classical, wet chemistry, wet chemical methods and modern analytical techniques. Classical qualitative methods use separations such as Precipitation (chemistry), precipitation, Extraction (chemistry), extraction, and distillation. Identification may be based on differences in color, odor, melting point, boiling point, solubility, radioactivity or reactivity. Classical quantitative analysis uses mass or volume changes to quantify amount. Ins ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Colorimetry
Colorimetry is "the science and technology used to quantify and describe physically the human color perception". It is similar to spectrophotometry, but is distinguished by its interest in reducing spectra to the physical correlates of color perception, most often the CIE 1931 XYZ color space tristimulus values and related quantities. History The Duboscq colorimeter was invented by Jules Duboscq in 1870. Instruments Colorimetric equipment is similar to that used in spectrophotometry. Some related equipment is also mentioned for completeness. * A tristimulus colorimeter measures the tristimulus values of a color. * A spectroradiometer measures the absolute spectral radiance (intensity) or irradiance of a light source. * A spectrophotometer measures the spectral reflectance, transmittance, or relative irradiance of a color sample. * A ''spectrocolorimeter'' is a spectrophotometer that can ''calculate'' tristimulus values. * A densitometer measures the degree of lig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stoichiometry
Stoichiometry () is the relationships between the masses of reactants and Product (chemistry), products before, during, and following chemical reactions. Stoichiometry is based on the law of conservation of mass; the total mass of reactants must equal the total mass of products, so the relationship between reactants and products must form a ratio of positive integers. This means that if the amounts of the separate reactants are known, then the amount of the product can be calculated. Conversely, if one reactant has a known quantity and the quantity of the products can be empirically determined, then the amount of the other reactants can also be calculated. This is illustrated in the image here, where the unbalanced equation is: : : However, the current equation is imbalanced. The reactants have 4 hydrogen and 2 oxygen atoms, while the product has 2 hydrogen and 3 oxygen. To balance the hydrogen, a coefficient of 2 is added to the product H2O, and to fix the imbalance of oxygen, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pore Water
Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available fresh water in the world is groundwater. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated deposit is called an ''aquifer'' when it can yield a usable quantity of water. The depth at which soil pore spaces or fractures and voids in rock become completely saturated with water is called the ''water table''. Groundwater is recharged from the surface; it may discharge from the surface naturally at springs and seeps, and can form oases or wetlands. Groundwater is also often withdrawn for agricultural, municipal, and industrial use by constructing and operating extraction wells. The study of the distribution and movement of groundwater is ''hydrogeology'', also called groundwater hydrology. Typically, groundwater is thought of as water flowing through shallow aquifers, but, in the technical sense, it can also contain soil moist ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
