Research Article Phytoremediation of heavy metal-contaminated water and sediment by Eleocharis acicularisPhytoremediation is an environmental remediation technique that takes advantage of plant physiology and metabolism. The unique property of heavy metal hyperaccumulation by the macrophyte Eleocharis acicularis is of great significance in the phytoremediation of water and sediments contaminated by heavy metals at mine sites. In this study, a field cultivation experiment was performed to examine the applicability of E. acicularis to the remediation of water contaminated by heavy metals. The highest concentrations of heavy metals in the shoots of E. acicularis were 20 200 mg Cu/kg, 14 200 mg Zn/kg, 1740 mg As/kg, 894 mg Pb/kg, and 239 mg Cd/kg. The concentrations of Cu, Zn, As, Cd, and Pb in the shoots correlate with their concentrations in the soil in a log-linear fashion. The bioconcentration factor for these elements decreases log-linearly with increasing concentration in the soil. The results indicate the ability of E. acicularis to hyperaccumulate Cu, Zn, As, and Cd under natural conditions, making it a good candidate species for the phytoremediation of water contaminated by heavy metals.

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The source mantle of the basaltic ocean crust on the western half of the Pacific Plate was examined using Pb-Nd-Hf isotopes. The results showed that the subducted Izanagi-Pacific Ridge (IPR) formed from both Pacific (180-80 Ma) and Indian (80-70 Ma) mantles. The western Pacific Plate becomes younger westward and is thought to have formed from the IPR. The ridge was subducted along the KurileJapan-Nankai-Ryukyu (KJNR) Trench at 60-55 Ma and leading edge of the Pacific Plate is currently stagnated in the mantle transition zone. Conversely, the entire eastern half of the Pacific Plate, formed from isotopically distinct Pacific mantle along the East Pacific Rise and the Juan de Fuca Ridge, largely remains on the seafloor. The subducted IPR is inaccessible; therefore, questions regarding which mantle might be responsible for the formation of the western half of the Pacific Plate remain controversial. Knowing the source of the IPR basalts provides insight into the Indian-Pacific mantle boundary before the Cenozoic. Isotopic compositions of the basalts from borehole cores (165-130 Ma) in the western Pacific show that the surface oceanic crust is of Pacific mantle origin. However, the accreted ocean floor basalts in the accretionary prism along the KJNR Trench have Indian mantle signatures. This indicates the younger western Pacific Plate of IPR origin formed partly from Indian mantle and that the Indian-Pacific mantle boundary has been stationary in the western Pacific at least since the Cretaceous.

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