The Impact of Ecological Restoration on Biogeochemical Cycling and Mercury Mobilization in Anoxic Conditions on Former Mining Sites in French Guiana.

Successive years of gold mining in French Guiana has resulted in soil degradation and deforestation leading to the pollution and erosion of mining plots. Due to erosion and topography, gold panning sites are submitted to hydromorphy during rainfall and groundwater increases. This original study focused on characterizing the impact of hydromorphic anaerobic periods on bio-geochemical cycles.

Mercury behaviour and C, N, and P biogeochemical cycles during ecological restoration processes of old mining sites in French Guiana.

Several decades of gold mining extraction activities in the Amazonian rainforest have caused deforestation and pollution. While ecological rehabilitation is essential for restoring biodiversity and decreasing erosion on deforested lands, few studies note the behaviour or toxicity of trace elements during the rehabilitation process. Our original study focused on the potential use of microbial activity and Hg speciation and compared them with As, Cu, Zn and Cr speciation in assessing the chemical and biological quality of ecological restoration efforts.

Tree Regeneration Under Different Land-Use Mosaics in the Brazilian Amazon's "Arc of Deforestation".

We studied the tree-regeneration patterns in three distinct agricultural settlements in the Eastern Amazon to test the influence of land-use mosaics. The following questions are addressed: are the floristic structure and composition of regenerating trees affected by the various land-use types applied in the agricultural settlements? Do tree-regeneration patterns respond similarly to distinct land-use mosaics? Is there a relationship between tree regeneration and soil characteristics among the land-use types? The regeneration was inventoried at 45 sampling points in each settlement. At each sampling point, fourteen soil variables were analyzed.

An ultrasonic contactless sensor for breathing monitoring.

The monitoring of human breathing activity during a long period has multiple fundamental applications in medicine. In breathing sleep disorders such as apnea, the diagnosis is based on events during which the person stops breathing for several periods during sleep. In polysomnography, the standard for sleep disordered breathing analysis, chest movement and airflow are used to monitor the respiratory activity.

Amazonian former gold mined soils as a source of methylmercury: evidence from a small scale watershed in French Guiana.

Total mercury (HgT) and monomethylmercury (MMHg) were investigated in a tropical head watershed (1 km(2)) of French Guiana. The watershed includes a pristine area on the hill slopes and a former gold mined flat in the bottomland. Concentrations of dissolved and particulate HgT and MMHg were measured in rain, throughfall, soil water and at three points along the stream.

Mercury distribution in tropical soil profiles related to origin of mercury and soil processes.

The aim of the study is to improve our understanding of the vertical and lateral variations in the mercury content [Hg] of tropical soils. In addition to the distance to anthropogenic sources of Hg, the most frequently evoked determining factor is the abundance of Hg-bearing phases. Soil processes (weathering, mass or water transfer) determine the abundance of carrier phases.