Material and method development for analysis of inorganic elements in aquatic environments

A high binding capacity, high surface area manganese oxide poly methyl methacrylate hybrid has been developed for removal of radium from aqueous media by sorption. The sorbent has mechanical and chemical stability from the polymer backbone and the sorption characteristics of the inorganic coating. Here barium is used as a proxy for radium sorption onto the Mn (PMMA). A poly (methyl methacrylate), PMMA, substrate has shown good mechanical strength, low water uptake, and low internal contamination content. The effect of solution pH, sorbent volume, and kinetics was determined in agitated batches, in both freshwater and seawater matrix. Mn (PMMA) showed strong sorption characteristics for not only barium and radium, but also cesium, strontium, and cobalt demonstrating Mn (PMMA) effectiveness over a wide range of elements. A derivative of Mn (PMMA) was used to pre-concentrate radium, 224Ra, which is used as an unambiguous tracer of terrigenous material, to show that free drifting icebergs are a significant Fe source to surface waters in the Southern Ocean. Inventories of excess 224Ra indicate local terrigenous input 1-3 orders of magnitude greater than estimates of aeolian dust fluxes to the Southern Ocean. Burdens of fine terrigenous material associated with current rates of iceberg ejection, are estimated to be on the order of 6.1 x 10 7 tons per year for Antarctica.;Nanomaterials are a complex environment pollutant that offers unique environmental issues. Gold nanomaterial pose a serious threat to plants, animals, and human beings do to bioaccumulation, non-biodegradable properties and toxicity even at low concentrations. Unfortunately to date there is little research and develop on methods of detection, sample handling and standard for monitoring nanomaterial in natural environments. Here we also present a new analytic method and standards for storing, as well as analyzing gold nanomaterial in natural environment.