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Understanding topographic relief evolution and its changes over hundreds of thousands to million-year timescales remains challenging. Recent approaches usually combine numerical modelling of terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide (TCN) exposure ages on strath terraces, exhumation histories based on thermochronology, drainage basin evolution, and basin stratigraphy. However, even when combined, these methods are unable to measure the rate changes with precisions needed to differentiate climate from tectonic drivers over multiple glacial cycles and longer timescales.Muon-paleotopometry is a new approach that may address the methodological gap in determining relief generation. Muon-paleotopometry utilizes the dependence of cosmic ray muon flux on crustal shielding depth. The spatial pattern of concentrations of multiple muon-induced TCN measured along a near-horizontal transect under valleys and peaks relates directly to the history of changes (positive or negative) in crustal thickness. It enables paleotopometry above the sample datum over an isotope-specific monitoring duration. By sampling at depths of hectametres, long-lived TCNs are not sensitive to minor short-term (

Tors, thus large residual rocks that are still enrooted in bedrock, adorn landscapes around the world. In recent years it became apparent, that tors are useful dipsticks that hold records of surface lowering rates of their surrounding surface. Here examples from the Sila Massif (Italy), Otago upland (New Zealand) and the Serra da Estrela (Protugal) are presented to provide a comprehensive overview of the capabilities and limitations of this new accessible archive.The narrative provides details on the investigation technique, the modelling approach, formation patterns of tors and resulting surface denudation rates. The trademark of the “Tor Exhumation/Exposure Approach” is obtaining continuous in-situ denudation rate variations (not just averages) over thousands of years. In result, new comparisons with climate or vegetation changes and even topography controls can be derived by this approach.

Limited data are available on how soil erosion rates compare between surfaces of different ages because short-term processes often overprint the longer-term erosion signal. This study investigated the soil dynamics among a formerly glaciated ('young', maximum glacial extent at 22–30 ka BP) and a non-glaciated ('old') area in the Serra da Estrela (Portugal). To disentangle soil distribution rates over different timeframes, isotopes for long-term (10Be), mid-term (δ13C) and short-term (239+240Pu) periods were applied together with principles of the percolation theory.Soils at the formerly glaciated area have a lower degree of weathering and lower carbon content compared to soils of the ‘older’, non-glaciated area. The distribution of selected isotopes along the soil profiles revealed temporal differences in soil mixing process. The formerly glaciated surface resulted in higher long-term average erosion rates compared to the non-glaciated area. Yet, soil redistribution rates over the last few decades are up to one order of magnitude higher than the millennia rates. Human impact (bush fires, grazing) is considered the probable cause for the currently strong soil degradation.

Few data are available on how soil erosion rates compare between surfaces of different ages because short-term processes often overprint the longer-term erosion signal. This study investigated the soil dynamics among two end-member sites, a formerly glaciated ('young', maximum glacial extent at 22–30 ka BP) and a non-glaciated ('old') area at the Serra da Estrela (Portugal). To disentangle soil distribution rates over different timeframes, isotopes for long-term (10Be), mid-term (δ13C) and short-term (239+240Pu) periods were applied together with principles of the percolation theory. The formerly glaciated area has soils with a lower degree of weathering and lower carbon content compared to soils of the ‘old‘, non-glaciated area. The selected isotopes and their distribution along the soil profiles revealed temporal differences in soil mixing process. It is hypothesised that the slightly higher elevation and formerly glaciated sites experienced cryoturbation effects over a longer period, while being less active or absent for the last few decades at the older, non-glaciated soils. The average long-term (millennia) soil erosion rates correspond to the expected higher rates at the younger surface and lower rates at the older surface. Once the formerly glaciated area became ice-free, soil erosion rates were high and decreased giving rise to average long-term rates of 101–140 [t km−2 yr−1] for the older surfaces and 176–248 [t km−2 yr−1] for the younger surfaces. In addition, seasonal freeze–thaw of the soils has persisted over a long period and affected the younger soils more intensively than the older soils. The current (last decades) soil redistribution rates, however, are up to one order of magnitude higher than the millennia rates and are controlled by surface angle and vegetation cover and less by soil texture. The more undulated, non-glaciated older surface had the highest short-term (decades) soil erosion rates in the range of 900–1700 [t km−2 yr−1], exhibits degrading conditions and relatively shallow soils. The younger soils, however, showed short-term (last few decades) average soil deposition rates of ∼ 230 [t km−2 yr−1]. Human impact (bush fires, grazing) is the cause for the currently strong soil degradation at the non-glaciated area., Catena, 215

In Europe, a high soil erosion risk is modelled for the Mediterranean area such as the Iberian Peninsula (e.g., EEA, 2009), while actual field data often lacks behind. Here we present the first 239+240Pu soil erosion results (last ~60 years) in the UNESCO Geopark Estrela, Portugal. We investigated soils in a former vastly glaciated and a non-glaciated area. We hypothesized that erosion rates in relatively young areas (max. about 16–20 kyr) will be distinctly higher than in old areas (several 100 kyr). We assumed that soil structure, organic matter and weathering degree in younger (natural) soils are still less favourable and do not yet protect efficiently enough soils from erosion. Besides soil erosion, we explored the weathering degree of the soil material using chemical weathering indices, determined the soil surface age using meteoric 10Be and looked at a broad set of physico-chemical soil characteristics of these two landscape settings.A glimpse of our first Plutonium results indicates that the differences between these two settings are rather minor. Soil erosion rates in these natural conditions (Geopark) predominantly depend on slope. With increasing slope angle, a maximum soil erosion rate of ~1600 [t km-2 yr-1] is reached. Not surprisingly, the age estimates of the soils within the formerly glaciated area confirmed the start of formation after the beginning of ice-decay. The formerly glaciated area is depleted in C and N compared to the never glaciated area. In the never glaciated area, a higher soil weathering degree is found by multiple weathering indices and an overall lower SiO2 content. Although past glacial activities rejuvenated the soil material (expressed by a lower weathering degree) and affected the soil organic matter content, soil erosion susceptibility does not seem to be higher compared to never glaciated areas. Under natural conditions, a quasi-steady state with respect to soil erosion seems to be reached fairly before 20 kyrs.

The Tor Exhumation Approach (TEA) traditionally uses large residual granitic landforms as indicators for surface lowering over time of their surrounding landscape. This study challenged the broad applicability of this approach by using large metamorphic residual landforms instead of the traditional plutonic rock formations. We applied in-situ cosmogenic nuclide techniques (10Be) along vertical landforms (schist-tors) on the Otago upland in southern New Zealand to investigate the capabilities of the TEA within another major rock type. The aim of the investigation was to decipher surface denudation models for the last ~100 ka. The experiment was coupled with fallout radionuclides (239+240Pu) in nearby soils to compare the Pleistocene / Holocene surface denudation rates with the Anthropocene (last ~60 years).The surface ages of the eight investigated schist-tors was between ~20 ka and ~300 ka. This allowed the numerical modeling of continuous surface denudation rates with highest values near 0.16-0.20 [mm year-1] (about 140–180 [t km-2year-1]), and over a period that has not yet been achieved. The fallout radionuclide study resulted in two different mass redistribution rates. Average soil erosion along a ridge was ~400 to ~850 [t km-2year-1], whereas in an adjacent valley soil deposition rates reached ~130 to ~1,500 [t km-2year-1]. In conclusion, this study provides a new basis on how schist-tors emerge at two different landscape positions (ridges and valleys). In addition, differences between past surface denudation rates and modern ones could be revealed.

Landscapes and soils evolve in non‐linear ways over millennia. Current knowledge is incomplete as only average denudation (or erosion) rates are normally estimated, neglecting the temporal discontinuities of these processes. The determination of regressive and progressive phases of soil evolution is important to our understanding of how soils and landscapes respond to environmental changes. The Sila Massif (Italy) provides a well‐defined geomorphological and geological setting to unravel temporal variations in soil redistribution rates. We used a combination of in situ cosmogenic radionuclide measurements (10Be) along tor (residual rock) height profiles, coupled with fallout radionuclides (239+240Pu) in soils, to model soil denudation rates over the last 100 ka. We measured rates prior to the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) of ≤30 t km−2 yr−1 (~0.036 mm yr−1). Following the LGM, during the transition from the Pleistocene to the Holocene, these rates increased to ~150–200 t km−2 yr−1 and appeared to be above soil production rates, causing regressive soil evolution. For the last ~50 years, we even describe erosion rates of ≥1,000 t km−2 yr−1 (~1.23 mm yr−1) and consider human impact as the decisive factor for this development. Consequently, the natural soil production rates cannot cope with the current erosion rates. Thus, a distinct regressive phase of soil formation exists, which will give rise to shallowing of soils over time. Overall, our multimethod approach traced denudation and erosion histories over geologic and human timescales and made a new archive to soil science and geomorphology accessible.

Data from soil chronosequences have been widely used to quantify soil formation and weathering rates, but are less used to determine erosion rates and the stabilisation of moraines over time. We hypothesise that soil erosion rates on moraine hillslopes decrease over time as soils evolve and slopes stabilise. We selected a sequence of moraines in the Wind River Range (Central Rocky Mountains) to study these processes over time. Moraine ages were based on 10Be surface exposure dating of moraine boulders. Quantitative soil erosion and accumulation rates along slopes with similar exposures, lengths and gradients were determined from profile patterns of 239+240Pu radionuclides. We used stable carbon isotopes ( δ 13 C) in relation with the total soil organic carbon (SOC) content for qualitative information about soil erosion. The 10Be boulder exposure ages revealed that the moraines were deposited during the Younger Dryas and the pre Bolling–Allerod episodes of the late Pleistocene. The morphology of the soils suggests a complex history of development and shows that both erosion and aeolian deposition have affected the soils. The 239+240Pu measurements revealed that erosion rates strongly decrease with time as soils develop. A weakly developed soil (Cambisol) is found on the youngest moraine (11.8 ka) that exhibits an erosion rate, depending on the calculation procedure, in the range of 260 to 520 t km−2 a−1. With time the erosion rate rapidly decreases to almost zero, presumably as a full vegetation cover develops. Bioturbation and/or dust influx is increasingly obvious with increasing age of the soils, as evidenced by the comparison of δ 13 C and SOC. The mass balance of the oldest soil (15.8 ka) indicates that the slopes have reached a geomorphological stability with little or no net erosion. Aeolian influx appears to be the primary factor to account for mass changes in the oldest soil.

Little is known about the extent of glaciers and dynamics of the landscape in south-eastern Russian Altai. The effects of climate-induced fluctuations of the glaciers and the upper treeline of the Mongun-Taiga mountain massif were, therefore, reconstructed on the basis of in-situ, multiannual observations, geomorphic mapping, radiocarbon and surface exposure dating, relative dating (such as Schmidt-hammer and weathering rind) techniques and palaeoclimate-modelling. During the maximal advance of the glaciers, their area was 26-times larger than now and the equilibrium line of altitude (ELA) was about 800 m lower. Assuming that the maximum glacier extent took place during MIS 4, then the average summer temperatures were 2.7 °C cooler than today and the amount of precipitation 2.1 times higher. Buried wood trunks by a glacier gave ages between 60 and 28 cal ka BP and were found 600–700 m higher than the present upper treeline. This evidences a distinctly elevated treeline during MIS 3a and c. With a correction for tectonics we reconstructed the summer warming to have been between 2.1 and 3.0 °C. During MIS 3c, the glaciated area was reduced to less than 0.5 km2 with an increase of the ELA of 310–470 m higher than today. Due to higher precipitation, the glaciated area during MIS 3a was close to the current ELA. Exposure dating (10Be) would indicate that the maximum glacier extension was 24 ka BP, but the results are questionable. From a geomorphic point of view, the maximum extent can more likely be ascribed to the MIS4 stage. We estimate a cooling of summer temperature of – 3.8 to – 4.2 °C and a decrease in precipitation of 37–46% compared to the present-day situation. Samples of wood having an age of 10.6–6.2 cal ka BP were found about 350 m higher than the present treeline. It seems that the summer temperature was 2.0–2.5 °C higher and annual precipitation was double that of the present-day. For that period, the reconstructed glaciation area was 1 km2 less than today. Three neoglacial glacier advances were detected. The glaciers covered about double the area during the Little Ice Age (LIA), summer cooling was 1.3 °C with 70% of the present-day precipitation. The reconstructed amplitude of climatic changes and the shift of the altitudinal zones show that the landscape has reacted sensitively to environmental changes and that dramatic changes may occur in the near future.

Recent studies have demonstrated that soils formed on pyroclastic ash deposits are much more common in the Mediterranean area than previously assumed. These soils are an important key to understanding past volcanic events and landscape evolution. Chronological information in soils of Quaternary volcanic events, however, remains still poorly understood in southern Italy. Using a multi-method forensic approach, we explore the origin and age of volcanic deposits (soils) in Sicily and Calabria. The geochemical signature of the soil was compared to the chemical fingerprint of the magmas of potential source areas of southern Italian volcanoes. The results indicate that the investigated soils on the Nebrodi (Sicily) and Sila (Calabria) mountains were both impacted by materials having a high-K calc-alkaline series volcanism. The Aeolian Islands (in particular Lipari and Vulcano) are the most likely source of origin, but contributions also from the Etna (particularly the Biancavilla ignimbrites and Plinian eruptions) occurred. Weathering and leaching processes, along with a potential contribution from the underlying non-volcanic bedrock, has altered the main chemical composition of soils, often precluding direct relation to potential source areas. Immobile elements and their ratios (e.g. the Nb/Y vs Zr/Ti plot) or trace elements (Co, Th) and rare earth elements (laser ablation ICP-MS analyses of glass particles, volcanic clasts and pumice-like materials) gave precious hints of the origin of the volcanic deposits. Radiocarbon dating of the H2O2 resistant soil organic fraction indicates a minimum age of 8–10 ka of the soils. The weathering index WIP (weathering index according to Parker) and the chemical composition of volcanic glasses and clasts were tested as proxies for the age of the volcanic deposits and time for soil formation. The soils and landscape are characterised by multiple volcanic depositional phases for the last about 50 ka in the Sila mountains and about 70 ka or more in the Nebrodi mountains. Chemical-mineralogical analyses enabled the detection of deposition phases during the Pleistocene and also Holocene. The multi-method approach enabled the identification of potential source areas, provided a tentative age estimate of the start (and in part duration) of ash deposits and therefore improved our understanding of volcanic landscape evolution.

Landscapes are subjected to surface denudation during their complex and non-linear evolution. In order to quantify the in situ surface lowering and, thus, denudation or soil erosion rates, new, multi-millennia archives are needed and must be rigorously tested. Large residual rocks, tors, are the basis for the Tor Exhumation Approach. Here we present novel results on meta-sedimentary (schist) rock tors using this approach, which previously has only been applied in granitic terrains. The exhumation patterns of eight schist tors in three landscape locations (valley, ridge, distal) of Otago, New Zealand, were studied using cosmogenic dating. The in situ 10Be ages have high variability along individual vertical tor profiles. Average surface age is 122 ± 12 ka and ranges from 836 ± 89 ka to 19 ± 2 ka. The majority of investigated tors have surfaced during the MIS 5 which was one of the wettest and warmest climate periods. The resulting surface denudation trend of the three locations differs. The valley commenced denudation no earlier than ~200 ka with rates of ~0.22 [m kyr−1] to ~0.02 [m kyr−1]. In contrast, exposure started at the ridge position around 230 ka at ~0.03 [m kyr−1]. An age inversion found in the valley is considered to be the result of mushroom-like exposure by undercutting and repeated rock breakoffs. The distal site tor has been exhumed continuously for ~120 ka at a rate of ~0.2 to ~0.05 [m kyr−1]. We identified a mix of surface emergence patterns of the tors such as continuous-, mushroom-, tafoni- and structural-like. The comparison to modern erosion rates indicates that surface erosion has increased up to a factor of ten during the last few decades. To determine the actual surface uplift, we linked the tor derived surface denudation rates with rock uplift data. The data indicates that the surface uplift rates started to decrease during the Middle Pleistocene (0.04–0.09 [m kyr−1]), remained relatively low during the Late Pleistocene (~0.01 [m kyr−1]) and started to increase again during the Holocene (c. 0.21–0.64 [m kyr−1]). In summary, the emergence pattern of local tors enabled reconstruction of the evolution of Pleistocene-Holocene surfaces in East Otago., Geomorphology, 389, ISSN:0169-555x, ISSN:1872-695X

How soil erosion rates evolved over the last about 100 ka and how they relate to environmental and climate variability is largely unknown. This is due to a lack of suitable archives that help to trace this evolution. We determined in situ cosmogenic beryllium‐10 (10Be) along vertical landforms (tors, boulders and scarps) on the Sila Massif to unravel their local exhumation patterns to develop a surface denudation model over millennia. Due to the physical resistance of tors, their rate of exhumation may be used to derive surface and, thus, soil denudation rates over time. We derived soil denudation rates that varied in the range 0–0.40 mm yr‐1. The investigated boulders, however, appear to have experienced repositioning processes about ~20–25 ka bp and were therefore a less reliable archive. The scarps of the Sila upland showed a rapid bedrock exposure within the last 8–15 ka. Overall, the denudation rates increased steadily after 75 ka bp but remained low until about 17 ka bp. The exhumation rates indicate a denudation pulse that occurred about 17–5 ka bp. Since then the rates have continuously decreased. We identify three key factors for these developments – climate, topography and vegetation. Between 75 and 17 ka bp, climate was colder and drier than today. The rapid changes towards warmer and humid conditions at the Pleistocene–Holocene transition apparently increased denudation rates. A denser vegetation cover with time counteracted denudation. Topography also determined the extent of denudation rates in the upland regime. On slopes, denudation rates were generally higher than on planar surfaces. By determining the exhumation rates of tors and scarps, soil erosion rates could be determined over long timescales and be related to topography and particularly to climate. This is key for understanding geomorphic dynamics under current environmental settings and future climate change.

The importance of gradual erosion relative to landsliding depends predominantly on the slope angle. One factor of critical influence in landsliding along with slope angle and slope shape is the soil depth. Understanding soil depth development on steep topography is fundamental for understanding and predicting the occurrence of landsliding at threshold landscapes. We develop a model to predict soil depth that addresses both threshold and gradual processes. If erosion is a gradual process, soil depth increases until the soil production rate no longer exceeds the erosion rate, and steady state is reached. The predicted soil depth (x) is proportional to the ratio of the infiltration to the erosion rate. Identifying a predictive result for erosion as a function of slope angle (S) allows a test of both the erosion and soil production models with field observations. The same theoretical approach to soil production should be applicable when the principal erosion process is shallow landsliding. After landslides, soil recovery initially follows our predicted power law increase in time, though with increasing time background erosion processes become important. At a time equal to a landslide recurrence interval, the soil depth can exceed the steady state depth by as much as a factor 2. By comparing predicted and observed x(S) results, we show that the accessed result for erosion as a function of slope angle is accurate. Soils deeper than the depth predicted at the landslide recurrence interval are beyond the stability limit. This result suggests an important practical relevance of the new soil production function.

Recent modeling and comparison with field results showed that soil formation by chemical weathering, either from bedrock or unconsolidated material, is limited largely by solute transport. Chemical weathering rates are proportional to solute velocities. Nonreactive solute transport described by non-Gaussian transport theory appears compatible with soil formation rates. This change in understanding opens new possibilities for predicting soil production and depth across orders of magnitude of time scales. Percolation theory for modeling the evolution of soil depth and production was applied to new and published data for alpine and Mediterranean soils. The first goal was to check whether the empirical data conform to the theory. Secondly we analyzed discrepancies between theory and observation to find out if the theory is incomplete, if modifications of existing experimental procedures are needed and what parameters might be estimated improperly. Not all input parameters required for current theoretical formulations (particle size, erosion, and infiltration rates) are collected routinely in the field; thus, theory must address how to find these quantities from existing climate and soil data repositories, which implicitly introduces some uncertainties. Existing results for soil texture, typically reported at relevant field sites, had to be transformed to results for a median particle size, d50, a specific theoretical input parameter. The modeling tracked reasonably well the evolution of the alpine and Mediterranean soils. For the Alpine sites we found, however, that we consistently overestimated soil depths by ~45%. Particularly during early soil formation, chemical weathering is more severely limited by reaction kinetics than by solute transport. The kinetic limitation of mineral weathering can affect the system until 1 kyr to a maximum of 10 kyr of soil evolution. Thereafter, solute transport seems dominant. The trend and scatter of soil depth evolution is well captured, particularly for Mediterranean soils. We assume that some neglected processes, such as bioturbation, tree throw, and land use change contributed to local reorganization of the soil and thus to some differences to the model. Nonetheless, the model is able to generate soil depth and confirms decreasing production rates with age. A steady state for soils is not reached before about 100 kyr to 1 Myr

Only scarce information is available on how organic C is incorporated into the soil during the decay and how (micro) climate influences this process. Therefore, we investigated the effect of exposure and elevation on the organic litter decomposition and C-stabilisation in acidic soils of an Alpine environment. An experiment with artificially 13C labelled Norway spruce needles was carried out at north- and south-exposed sites between 1200 and 2400 m a.s.l. in the Italian Alps using mesocosms. After 1 year, the 13C recoveries of the bulk soil were 18.6% at the north-facing slopes and 31.5% at the south-facing slopes. A density fractionation into a light (LF; ≤1.6 g cm−3) and a heavy fraction (HF; >1.6 g cm−3) of the soil helped to identify how the applied substrate was stabilised. At the northern slope, 10.5% of the substrate was recovered in the LF and 8.1% in the HF and at the south-facing slope 22.8% in the LF and 8.1% in the HF. The overall 13C recovery was higher at the south-facing sites due to restricted water availability. Although the climate is humid in the whole area, soil moisture availability becomes more important at south-facing sites due to higher evapotranspiration. However, at sites >1700 m a.s.l, the situation changed, as the northern slope had higher recovery rates. At such altitudes, temperature effects are more dominant. This highlights the importance of locally strongly varying edaphic factors when investigating the carbon cycle.

Several studies report that when small-dose racemic ketamine, an N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist, is administered perioperatively, opioid consumption is reduced postoperatively. S(+)-ketamine has a higher affinity for the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor and less-serious side effects than racemic ketamine. Thirty patients scheduled for elective arthroscopic anterior cruciate ligament repair were enrolled in this randomized, double-blinded clinical trial designed to determine the preemptive effect of S(+)-ketamine on postoperative analgesia requirements in a setting of clinically relevant perioperative analgesia. Total IV anesthesia was induced and maintained with remifentanil (0.125-1.0 microg x kg(-1) x min(-1)) and a propofol target-controlled infusion (target 2-4 microg/mL). The Ketamine group received a bolus of 0.5 mg/kg S(+)-ketamine before incision, followed by a continuing infusion of 2 microg x kg(-1) x min(-1) until 2 h after emergence from anesthesia. The Control group received NaCl in the same sequence. After IV morphine provided pain relief down toor =3 on a visual analog scale scored from 0 to 10, patients were connected to a patient-controlled analgesia device. There were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of total morphine consumption or VAS scores, either at rest or with movement. In our study, S(+)-ketamine did not contribute to postoperative pain reduction, possibly because of the clinically routine perioperative opioid analgesia.Small-dose S(+)-ketamine had no positive effect on postoperative analgesia when administered perioperatively for elective arthroscopic anterior cruciate ligament repair. Unlike investigations of the racemic mixture of ketamine, our study methods included timely standard-practice perioperative opioid analgesia, which seems to make supplemental analgesia unnecessary.

Diatomite is well known to remove particulate matter for a broad range of applications due to diatom skeleton structures. Hydrothermally treated diatomite has been demonstrated to be a feasible pathway to produce advanced materials for the removal of aqueous heavy metal ions. However, single-synthesis routes to obtain altered diatomite for simultaneous removal of dissolved and particulate contaminants are still missing. Therefore, hydrothermal experiments at pH 12.8 ([KOH] = 0.1 M), and T = 100 °C and different added Al concentrations (0 mM ≤ [Al] ≤ 11 mM) were conducted. Results reveal that in comparison with previous experiments (Hollen et al. in J Mater Sci Eng B 2(10):523–533, 2012) using less alkaline solutions slower dissolution of diatomite is triggering the formation of nanosized spherical particles (NSP) in the presence of diatom skeleton relicts. NSP ranged between 10 and 50 nm in size and were located within the micropores of the diatoms (100–200 nm). TEM-SAED analyses of NSP indicated nanocrystalline phases with distinct lattice planes of 0.45 and 0.26 nm, which could not be attributed to common aluminosilicates. In accordance with the small crystal size, no X-ray diffraction peaks occurred in the bulk reaction product using powder XRD analyses. Metal ion removal experiments at ambient temperature indicated its high removal capacities for aqueous Cu2+, Pb2+ and Zn2+ ranging from 10 to 99 % (e.g., ion sorption capacities of about 0.02–0.2 mval/g). The synthesized product was also successfully tested for its metal ion removal behaviour using a mine drainage solution containing Cd2+, Pb2+, Zn2+ and Sr2+. The developed synthesis path yields a hierarchically structured material based on combined micropores (about 100 nm) from the diatoms and NSP with nanopores (1–5 nm) which is promising for large-scale production to simultaneously remove dissolved and particulate contaminants from aqueous solutions.