abstract: Oxygen fugacity (ƒO2) is a thermodynamic variable used to represent the redox state of a material or a system. It is equivalent to the partial pressure of oxygen in a particular environment corrected for the non-ideal behavior of the gas. ƒO2 is often used to indicate the potential for iron to occur in a more oxidized or reduced state at a particular temperature and pressure in a natural system. Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) is a powerful analytical instrument that can be used to analyze elemental and isotopic compositional information about microscopic features within solid materials. SIMS analyses of the secondary ion energy distribution of semi-pure metals demonstrate that the energy spectrum of individual mass lines can provide information about alterations in its surface environment. The application of high-resolution (see Appendix C) energy spectrum calibrations to natural ilmenite led to the investigation of zirconium (90Zr+) and niobium (93Nb+) as potential indicators of sample ƒO2. Energy spectrum measurements were performed on an array of ilmenite crystals from the earth’s upper mantle retrieved from kimberlites and from a reduced meteorite. In all studied materials, variability in the peak shape and width of the energy spectra has been correlated with inferred sample ƒO2. The best descriptor of this relationship is the full-width at half-maximum (FWHM; see Appendix C) of the energy spectra for each sample. It has been estimated that a 1eV change in the FWHM of 93Nb+ energy spectra is roughly equivalent to 1 log unit ƒO2. Simple estimates of precision suggest the FWHM values can be trusted to  1eV and sample ƒO2 can be predicted to ±1 log unit, assuming the temperature of formation is known. The work of this thesis also explores the applicability of this technique beyond analysis of semi-pure metals and ilmenite crystals from kimberlites. This technique was applied to titanium oxides experimentally formed at known ƒO2 as well as an ilmenite crystal that showed compositional variations across the grain (i.e., core to rim chemical variations). Analyses of titanium oxides formed at known ƒO2 agree with the estimation that 1 eV change in the FWHM of 93Nb+ is equivalent to ~1 log unit ƒO2 (in all cases but one); this is also true for analyses of a natural ilmenite crystal with compositional variations across the grain. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Geological Sciences 2019

The bioaccumulation of organic contaminants in aquatic ecosystems has been a key focus in environmental toxicology over the last decades. Bioaccumulation is a key concept in ecological risk assessments since it controls the internal dose of potential environmental contaminants. Information on the bioaccumulation of contaminants is used by regulatory authorities in the development of water quality standards, categorizing substances that are potential hazards and quantifying the risk of chemicals to human health. A basis for identifying priority chemicals has been the use of the octanol-water partition coefficient (KOW) as a criterion to estimate bioaccumulation potential. However, recognizing that the bioaccumulation process is not controlled by the hydrophobicity of a chemical alone, this thesis proposes a set of tools, incorporating chemical properties, environmental characteristics and physiological properties of organisms, to study the bioaccumulation of contaminants in aquatic ecosystems.  In striving to achieve this objective, a tool based on an equilibrium lipid partitioning approach was used in Paper I to evaluate monitoring data for bioaccumulation of organic contaminants. In Papers II and III, mechanistic based modelling tools were developed to describe bioaccumulation of hydrophobic compounds in aquatic food webs. In Paper IV, the bioaccumulation of organic compounds in aquatic food chains was studied using stable isotopes of nitrogen. The mechanistic fate and food web models developed in this thesis provide regulators and chemical manufacturers with a means of communicating scientific information to the general public and readily applicable mechanistic fate and food web models that are easily modified for evaluative assessments purposes.

Anatoxin-a (ANTX) is a neurotoxin produced by several freshwater cyanobacteria and has been implicated in the death of livestock and domestic animals from consumption of tainted surface waters. ANTX is unstable under normal conditions and is somewhat problematic to extract and study. Accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) combined with liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC/MS) was used to develop an efficient extraction and analytical method for both ANTX and the more commonly encountered hepatotoxic microcystins produced by cyanobacteria. The effects of nitrogen supply on the cellular production and release of ANTX was investigated in Aphanizomenon issatschenkoi (Ussaczew) Proschkina-Lavrenko (Nostocales). In contrast to the predictions of the carbonnutrient balance hypothesis, the maximum production was observed under moderate N stress. In addition, steady state fugacity-based models were employed to investigate ANTX’s distribution and fate in freshwater ecosytems. ANTX was not found to be very persistent in aquatic ecosystems and did not appear to bioaccumulate in fish, at least not from the dissolved phase.

Understanding Earth’s accretion and primary differentiation is a long-standing goal of geology. The segregation of FeNi metal from molten silicate to form Earth’s core is expected to deplete and fractionate the highly siderophile elements (HSEs). Estimates of the primitive upper mantle (PUM) composition however, reveal only modest HSE depletions and chondritic element ratios. Past experiments to determine if the mantle composition is set by high-temperature metal-silicate equilibrium have involved measuring the solubility of HSEs in silicate melt at conditions more reducing than the iron-wustite (IW) buffer. Accurate determination of solubilities at such conditions has been hindered by the formation of dispersed metal inclusions; this work describes methods to circumvent the problem. Results of three separate studies are presented which document the solubility of Re, Pt and Au in molten silicate which is demonstrably nugget-free. Data obtained from experiments done at 0.1 MPa–2 GPa, 1573–2573 K and ~ IW -1.5 to +3 reveal: 1) Re, Pt and Au solubility increases with increasing temperature, 2) Re solubility increases with increasing oxygen fugacity (fO2), consistent with dissolution as oxide species, 3) Below ~ IW +3, Pt and Au solubility increases with decreasing fO2, consistent with dissolution as neutral or silicide species, and 4) that Au is amongst the most soluble HSE in molten silicate, with values increasing with temperature, but insensitive to changes in P, fO2 and melt composition, making it well suited as a geothermometer for core formation. Partition coefficients calculated from these and previous solubility measurements indicate that metal-silicate equilibrium is unable to reproduce the Re/Os and Pt/Os ratios required by PUM Os isotope systematics if simultaneously accounting for the observed absolute element abundances. Instead, results support late accretion of material following core formation, elevating element abundances and endowing chondritic inter-element ratios. Experimental results are incorporated into a terrestrial accretion model, which differs from the standard approach by explicitly accounting for the distribution of oxygen. Model results show siderophile element abundances in PUM are best reproduced if the mantle undergoes oxidation during accretion and metal-silicate equilibrium occurs near the peridotite solidus.

Understanding Earth’s accretion and primary differentiation is a long-standing goal of geology. The segregation of FeNi metal from molten silicate to form Earth’s core is expected to deplete and fractionate the highly siderophile elements (HSEs). Estimates of the primitive upper mantle (PUM) composition however, reveal only modest HSE depletions and chondritic element ratios. Past experiments to determine if the mantle composition is set by high-temperature metal-silicate equilibrium have involved measuring the solubility of HSEs in silicate melt at conditions more reducing than the iron-wustite (IW) buffer. Accurate determination of solubilities at such conditions has been hindered by the formation of dispersed metal inclusions; this work describes methods to circumvent the problem. Results of three separate studies are presented which document the solubility of Re, Pt and Au in molten silicate which is demonstrably nugget-free. Data obtained from experiments done at 0.1 MPa–2 GPa, 1573–2573 K and ~ IW -1.5 to +3 reveal: 1) Re, Pt and Au solubility increases with increasing temperature, 2) Re solubility increases with increasing oxygen fugacity (fO2), consistent with dissolution as oxide species, 3) Below ~ IW +3, Pt and Au solubility increases with decreasing fO2, consistent with dissolution as neutral or silicide species, and 4) that Au is amongst the most soluble HSE in molten silicate, with values increasing with temperature, but insensitive to changes in P, fO2 and melt composition, making it well suited as a geothermometer for core formation. Partition coefficients calculated from these and previous solubility measurements indicate that metal-silicate equilibrium is unable to reproduce the Re/Os and Pt/Os ratios required by PUM Os isotope systematics if simultaneously accounting for the observed absolute element abundances. Instead, results support late accretion of material following core formation, elevating element abundances and endowing chondritic inter-element ratios. Experimental results are incorporated into a terrestrial accretion model, which differs from the standard approach by explicitly accounting for the distribution of oxygen. Model results show siderophile element abundances in PUM are best reproduced if the mantle undergoes oxidation during accretion and metal-silicate equilibrium occurs near the peridotite solidus.

Anatoxin-a (ANTX) is a neurotoxin produced by several freshwater cyanobacteria and has been implicated in the death of livestock and domestic animals from consumption of tainted surface waters. ANTX is unstable under normal conditions and is somewhat problematic to extract and study. Accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) combined with liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC/MS) was used to develop an efficient extraction and analytical method for both ANTX and the more commonly encountered hepatotoxic microcystins produced by cyanobacteria. The effects of nitrogen supply on the cellular production and release of ANTX was investigated in Aphanizomenon issatschenkoi (Ussaczew) Proschkina-Lavrenko (Nostocales). In contrast to the predictions of the carbonnutrient balance hypothesis, the maximum production was observed under moderate N stress. In addition, steady state fugacity-based models were employed to investigate ANTX’s distribution and fate in freshwater ecosytems. ANTX was not found to be very persistent in aquatic ecosystems and did not appear to bioaccumulate in fish, at least not from the dissolved phase.

Kimberlitos são rochas vulcânicas que, frequentemente, contêm diamante, grafite e/ou carbonato, sendo a presença destes componentes diretamente influenciada pela variabilidade da fugacidade de oxigênio (fO2) do magma durante a sua ascenção. Segundo Chakhmouradian and Mitchell (2000), CaTiO3-perovskitas podem ser usadas para revelar as condições de alguns dos múltiplos estágios de cristalização da história magmática destas rochas. No intuito de estabelecer a fugacidade de oxigênio de magmas kimberlíticos naturais, CaTiO3-perovskitas foram cristalizadas experimentalmente em equilíbrio com um líquido kimberlítico sintético em altas temperaturas e diferentes condições de pressão e de fugacidade de oxigênio. Os experimentos mostraram que a perovskita incorporou maiores quantidades de Fe3+ com o aumento da fO2. A equação do oxigênio barômetro desenvolvida neste estudo pode ser aplicada em rochas kimberlíticas de diferentes condições de fO2, que contêm CaTiO3-perovskita e olivina. Na presente pesquisa, nós aplicamos este oxigênio barômetro em amostras do kimberlito Rosário do Sul, que é um kimberlito transicional localizado no limite sudoeste da Bacia do Paraná. Os dados de minerais deste kimberlito sugerem que sua fonte é um produto da reação de um líquido silicático-carbonatítico com o manto. Idades U-Pb de ~ 128Ma em CaTiO3-perovskitas (Conceição et al., in prep.) revelam que o kimberlito Rosário do Sul provavelmente entrou em erupção logo após o vulcanismo da Província Paraná-Etendeka. Temperaturas de cristalização, pressões e fO2 dos kimberlitos Rosário do Sul e Alfeu-I, outro importante kimberlito situado no sul do Brasil, foram calculadas. As condições de suas fontes foram estimadas usando diferentes métodos a partir das composições de olivinas, espinélios, CaTiO3-perovskitas, granadas, ortopiroxênios e clinopiroxênios. As temperaturas, pressões e condições de fO2 dos kimberlitos Rosário do Sul e Alfeu-I sugerem que eles foram transportados para a superfície em condições nas quais fluidos ricos em CO2 podem reagir com o manto silicático e produzir carbonatos. A composição mineral e as condições de formação do kimberlito Rosário do Sul indicam que a sua fonte pode ter sido metassomatizada por fluidos provenientes da reciclagem de uma placa oceânica subductada durante a quebra do Gondwana e abertura do Atlântico Sul, logo depois do vulcanismo da Província Paraná-Etendeka. As condições de formação dos kimberlitos Rosário do Sul e Alfeu-I são usadas também para estimar o potencial destes kimberlitos em preservar diamantes. / Kimberlites are volcanic rocks which often contain diamonds, graphite and/or carbonate, and the stability of these minerals is directly influenced by the variability of oxygen fugacity (fO2) of the magma during its ascent. Second Chakhmouradian and Mitchell (2000), CaTiO3-perovskites may be used to unravel the conditions of some of the multiple stages of crystallization in the magmatic history of these rocks. In order to establish oxygen fugacities of natural kimberlititic magmas, we experimentally equilibrated CaTiO3-perovskites with synthetic kimberlitic melts at high temperatures, different oxygen fugacities and different pressures. The experiments show that perovskite incorporates increasing amounts of Fe3+ with increasing fO2. The oxygen barometer equation developed in this study can be applied in kimberlite rocks that contain CaTiO3-perovskite and olivine from different fO2 conditions. In the present research, we applied this oxygen barometer in the Rosário do Sul kimberlite samples, which is a transitional kimberlite located in the southwestern edge of the Paraná Basin. The mineral data of this kimberlite suggest that its source is a product of the reaction of a silicate-carbonate liquid in the mantle. U-Pb ages of ~ 128 Ma on CaTiO3-perovskites (Conceição et al., in prep.) reveal that the Rosário do Sul kimberlite probably erupted just after the volcanism of Paraná-Etendeka Province. We calculated crystallization temperatures, pressures and oxygen fugacities (fO2) of Rosário do Sul and Alfeu-I kimberlites, another important kimberlite situated in the South of Brazil. Their source conditions are estimated using different methods from olivines, spinels, CaTiO3-perovskites, garnets, orthopyroxenes and clinopyroxenes compositions. The calculated temperature, pressure and fO2 values of Rosário do Sul and Alfeu-I kimberlites suggest that they were transported to the surface under fO2 conditions in which CO2-rich fluids may react with mantle silicates to produce carbonates. The mineral composition and fO2 conditions of Rosário do Sul kimberlite indicate that its source may have been metasomatized by fluids generated from the recycling of a subducted oceanic plate during the Gondwana breakup and the South Atlantic opening, just after the Paraná-Etendeka Province volcanism. The source conditions of Rosário do Sul and Alfeu-I kimberlites are also used to estimate the potential of these kimberlites to preserve diamonds.

Due to environmental concerns, most of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) have been eliminated or reduced in production and use; however, due to their great persistency, POPs are expected still to be found in the environment long after their use has ceased. Although, in recent years, POPs have rarely been detected in river water in the United Kingdom (UK), their concentrations in fish (biota) and sediment are expected to be notable due to their lipophilicity and bioaccumulation; however, there is a lack of information and data to understand the current contamination of POPs in catchments and evaluate their potential risk to the environment and ecosystem. This thesis describes the application of mathematical modelling approaches to (i) predict the current distribution and concentration of POPs in catchments, (ii) evaluate the influence of climate change and extreme weather conditions on the fate of POPs, and (iii) provide guidelines to inform decision-making on managing the potential risks of POPs in river basins. The modelling studies have mainly focused on polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). The River Thames catchment was chosen as the study area. The Fugacity level III model was initially used to describe the general distribution of PCBs between different compartments; it was predicted that the greatest mass of PCBs remain in the soil, but the fish and sediments represent compartments with the highest PCB concentrations. The contamination of PCBs in Thames fish was estimated to exceed the unrestricted consumption thresholds of 5.9 μg/kg for ∑PCBs set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); no current EU Environmental Quality Standards (EQS) are available for PCBs in fish. It was indicated that the PCBs in fish could be linked to PCB contamination in sediment, which was predicted to be about three times higher than the fish concentrations, but insufficient observed data of PCBs in Thames fish and sediment are available to validate the results. In order to address this limitation in observed data, fish and sediment sampling and chemical analysis were carried out for the presence of POPs. In addition to PCBs, the measured results for hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in Thames fish and sediment were assessed. Although the observed fish- and sediment concentrations of the chemicals appear quite variable, when normalised to organic carbon the levels in sediment, they were comparable to the fish lipid normalised concentrations. Using the temperature and rainfall data forecasts in the UK Climate Projections 2009 (UKCP09), climate change scenarios were established and assessed in the fugacity modelling. The modelling results suggested a modest influence of climate change on PCB fate over the next 80 years. The most significant result was a tendency, in the Thames catchment, for climate change to enhance the evaporation of PCBs from soil to air. While the fugacity model successfully simulated the distribution and fate of PCBs, we used greatly simplified representations of climate, hydrology and biogeochemical processes of the catchment: to have a deeper understanding, a newly developed dynamic hydrobiogeochemical transport model - the Integrated Catchment Contaminants model (INCAContaminants) was applied. Using additional information about weather, river flows and water chemistry, the INCA-Contaminants model provided new insights into the behaviour of contaminants in the catchment; this led to a better representation of PCB contamination in sediment. In addition, INCA demonstrated the important impact of short-term weather variation on PCB movement through the environment. It was shown that PCBs contamination in Thames sediment was greatly disturbed by the severe flooding that occurred in early 2014. This thesis presents the application of the INCA model to assess - in addition to POPs - the behaviour of metaldehyde in the River Thames catchment. Metaldehyde is a type of pesticide used mainly to kill snails and slugs. Its application in agricultural areas within the catchment area has in recent years caused severe problems with drinking water supply. The INCA model has proved to be an effective tool for simulating the transport of metaldehyde in the catchment, predicting observed metaldehyde concentrations at multiple locations in the River Thames; this is the first time that a dynamic modelling approach has been used to predict the behaviour of metaldehyde in river basins. Modelling results showed that high concentrations of metaldehyde in the river system are a direct consequence of excessive application rates. In this thesis, a simple decision-support tool was derived from modelling results, based on variable application rates and application areas. This decision-support tool is now being used by Thames Water to help control peak concentrations of metaldehyde at key water supply locations.

Kimberlitos são rochas vulcânicas que, frequentemente, contêm diamante, grafite e/ou carbonato, sendo a presença destes componentes diretamente influenciada pela variabilidade da fugacidade de oxigênio (fO2) do magma durante a sua ascenção. Segundo Chakhmouradian and Mitchell (2000), CaTiO3-perovskitas podem ser usadas para revelar as condições de alguns dos múltiplos estágios de cristalização da história magmática destas rochas. No intuito de estabelecer a fugacidade de oxigênio de magmas kimberlíticos naturais, CaTiO3-perovskitas foram cristalizadas experimentalmente em equilíbrio com um líquido kimberlítico sintético em altas temperaturas e diferentes condições de pressão e de fugacidade de oxigênio. Os experimentos mostraram que a perovskita incorporou maiores quantidades de Fe3+ com o aumento da fO2. A equação do oxigênio barômetro desenvolvida neste estudo pode ser aplicada em rochas kimberlíticas de diferentes condições de fO2, que contêm CaTiO3-perovskita e olivina. Na presente pesquisa, nós aplicamos este oxigênio barômetro em amostras do kimberlito Rosário do Sul, que é um kimberlito transicional localizado no limite sudoeste da Bacia do Paraná. Os dados de minerais deste kimberlito sugerem que sua fonte é um produto da reação de um líquido silicático-carbonatítico com o manto. Idades U-Pb de ~ 128Ma em CaTiO3-perovskitas (Conceição et al., in prep.) revelam que o kimberlito Rosário do Sul provavelmente entrou em erupção logo após o vulcanismo da Província Paraná-Etendeka. Temperaturas de cristalização, pressões e fO2 dos kimberlitos Rosário do Sul e Alfeu-I, outro importante kimberlito situado no sul do Brasil, foram calculadas. As condições de suas fontes foram estimadas usando diferentes métodos a partir das composições de olivinas, espinélios, CaTiO3-perovskitas, granadas, ortopiroxênios e clinopiroxênios. As temperaturas, pressões e condições de fO2 dos kimberlitos Rosário do Sul e Alfeu-I sugerem que eles foram transportados para a superfície em condições nas quais fluidos ricos em CO2 podem reagir com o manto silicático e produzir carbonatos. A composição mineral e as condições de formação do kimberlito Rosário do Sul indicam que a sua fonte pode ter sido metassomatizada por fluidos provenientes da reciclagem de uma placa oceânica subductada durante a quebra do Gondwana e abertura do Atlântico Sul, logo depois do vulcanismo da Província Paraná-Etendeka. As condições de formação dos kimberlitos Rosário do Sul e Alfeu-I são usadas também para estimar o potencial destes kimberlitos em preservar diamantes. / Kimberlites are volcanic rocks which often contain diamonds, graphite and/or carbonate, and the stability of these minerals is directly influenced by the variability of oxygen fugacity (fO2) of the magma during its ascent. Second Chakhmouradian and Mitchell (2000), CaTiO3-perovskites may be used to unravel the conditions of some of the multiple stages of crystallization in the magmatic history of these rocks. In order to establish oxygen fugacities of natural kimberlititic magmas, we experimentally equilibrated CaTiO3-perovskites with synthetic kimberlitic melts at high temperatures, different oxygen fugacities and different pressures. The experiments show that perovskite incorporates increasing amounts of Fe3+ with increasing fO2. The oxygen barometer equation developed in this study can be applied in kimberlite rocks that contain CaTiO3-perovskite and olivine from different fO2 conditions. In the present research, we applied this oxygen barometer in the Rosário do Sul kimberlite samples, which is a transitional kimberlite located in the southwestern edge of the Paraná Basin. The mineral data of this kimberlite suggest that its source is a product of the reaction of a silicate-carbonate liquid in the mantle. U-Pb ages of ~ 128 Ma on CaTiO3-perovskites (Conceição et al., in prep.) reveal that the Rosário do Sul kimberlite probably erupted just after the volcanism of Paraná-Etendeka Province. We calculated crystallization temperatures, pressures and oxygen fugacities (fO2) of Rosário do Sul and Alfeu-I kimberlites, another important kimberlite situated in the South of Brazil. Their source conditions are estimated using different methods from olivines, spinels, CaTiO3-perovskites, garnets, orthopyroxenes and clinopyroxenes compositions. The calculated temperature, pressure and fO2 values of Rosário do Sul and Alfeu-I kimberlites suggest that they were transported to the surface under fO2 conditions in which CO2-rich fluids may react with mantle silicates to produce carbonates. The mineral composition and fO2 conditions of Rosário do Sul kimberlite indicate that its source may have been metasomatized by fluids generated from the recycling of a subducted oceanic plate during the Gondwana breakup and the South Atlantic opening, just after the Paraná-Etendeka Province volcanism. The source conditions of Rosário do Sul and Alfeu-I kimberlites are also used to estimate the potential of these kimberlites to preserve diamonds.

Anatoxin-a (ANTX) is a neurotoxin produced by several freshwater cyanobacteria and has been implicated in the death of livestock and domestic animals from consumption of tainted surface waters. ANTX is unstable under normal conditions and is somewhat problematic to extract and study. Accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) combined with liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC/MS) was used to develop an efficient extraction and analytical method for both ANTX and the more commonly encountered hepatotoxic microcystins produced by cyanobacteria. The effects of nitrogen supply on the cellular production and release of ANTX was investigated in Aphanizomenon issatschenkoi (Ussaczew) Proschkina-Lavrenko (Nostocales). In contrast to the predictions of the carbonnutrient balance hypothesis, the maximum production was observed under moderate N stress. In addition, steady state fugacity-based models were employed to investigate ANTX’s distribution and fate in freshwater ecosytems. ANTX was not found to be very persistent in aquatic ecosystems and did not appear to bioaccumulate in fish, at least not from the dissolved phase.