The environmental field is a multidisciplinary area of study focusing on the interactions between human activities and the natural environment. It encompasses various disciplines, including physics, chemistry, biology, geography, and social sciences, aiming to understand, assess, and manage the impacts of human activities on the environment.
Some key research areas within the environmental field include:
Pollution Monitoring and Assessment: With industrialization, pollutants such as heavy metals, organic compounds, and microplastics have increasingly contaminated air, water, and soil. Researchers utilize various analytical methods to monitor these pollutants, ensuring public health and ecological safety.
Ecosystem Health: Evaluating and monitoring the health of ecosystems, including biodiversity and species interactions, is crucial for developing effective environmental policies and conservation strategies.
Environmental Remediation: Developing techniques for restoring polluted soil and water to their natural state is an essential part of environmental science.
Synchrotron radiation technology has emerged as a powerful tool in environmental research, offering high-resolution and sensitive analytical capabilities. Its application spans several critical areas:
Pollutant Analysis: Techniques such as X-ray imaging、X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) permit precise identification and quantification of pollutants in environmental samples. This data aids in tracing pollution sources and assessing remediation efforts. Kang, J.-H., et al employed synchrotron X-ray fluorescence to analyze heavy metal contamination in urban soils (Environmental Science & Technology, 50(12), 6853-6861,2016). Jie Ding et al., utilized transmission X-ray microscopy at Hefei Light Source (HLS) and developed innovative data analysis methods to analyze the structural and chemical information of individual haze particles. This included determining the composition of various elements and the spatial distribution of key elements. The study provided critical scientific evidence for understanding the structure-activity relationship between the iron species, content, and spatial distribution in atmospheric particles and the generation of free radicals, as well as their induced health effects.
Material Structure and Function Studies: Synchrotron radiation allows researchers to investigate the microstructures and chemical states of environmental materials, such as soil minerals. Understanding these characteristics helps elucidate how pollutants migrate and interact within ecosystems.
Ecosystem and Biodiversity Research: The technology can analyze biological samples from ecosystems, helping to reveal the impact of environmental changes on flora and fauna, thus assessing ecological risks.
Development of Green Remediation Materials: Research into novel environmentally-friendly materials, such as nanomaterials for pollutant removal, is enhanced through synchrotron radiation analysis, revealing their efficacy and safety in environmental applications.
Hefei Advanced Light Facility (HLAF) boasts extremely high brightness and coherence, making it particularly suitable for soft X-ray spectroscopy and imaging. It is equipped with beamlines for X-ray spectroscopy (0.7 eV–10 keV), soft X-ray coherent imaging and tender microscopic spectroscopic imaging. These characterization technologies enable highly sensitive element resolution, high spatial structural resolution, and precise electronic information characterization, covering elemental analysis from light elements to heavy metals. This will play a crucial role in advancing our understanding of environmental issues and developing effective strategies for monitoring and remediation，such as water treatment and pollution control、soil pollution and remediation.