The impact of organic pollution on the macrobenthic fauna of Dubai Creek (UAE)

Dubai Creek is a tidal marine intrusion bisecting Dubai within the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The creek extends 14km inland from its opening into the Arabian Gulf, with a narrow lower creek channel leading to a lagoon section in the upper creek. The creek contains numerous sources of organic pollution including sewage outlet flows and boat waste. A survey of the creek was performed, assessing organic pollution, water properties, and the benthic macrofaunal community. The upper creek was heavily polluted with macrofauna communities commonly associated with organic pollution and eutrophication, while the lower creek contained low pollution and relatively healthy macrofauna communities. There is little net tidal flow of water within the creek and residence time in the lagoon is high, which may account for the high organic pollution levels. However, some evidence of the pollution effect moving into the lower creek was found. The results are considered in light of current and historic organic loading within the creek and future developments in the area.     

Asymptotic analysis of cross-hole hydraulic tests in fractured granite

Illman and Tartakovsky (2005a, 2005b) developed a new approach for the interpretation of three-dimensional pneumatic well tests conducted in porous or fractured geologic media, which is based on a straight-line analysis of late-time data. We modify this approach to interpret three-dimensional well tests in the saturated zone and use it to analyze the cross-hole hydraulic test data collected in the Full-Scale Engineered Barrier Experiment gallery at the Grimsel Test Site in Switzerland. The equivalent hydraulic conductivity and specific storage obtained from our analysis increase with the radial distance between the centroids of the pumping and monitoring intervals. Since this scale effect is observed from a single test type (cross-hole tests), it is less ambiguous than scale effects typically inferred from laboratory and multiple types of hydraulic tests (e.g., slug, single- and cross-hole tests). The statistical analysis of the estimated hydraulic parameters shows a strong correlation between equivalent hydraulic conductivity and specific storage.     

USArray及其近期科学发现

美国台阵(USArray)是EarthScope计划的主要内容之一。旨在探测北美大陆变形、结构及其演化。USArray主要由平移/滚动台阵和机动台阵两部分构成。滚动台阵由400个宽频带地震台站组成,以向前滚动的方式扫过美国本土和阿拉斯加。利用来自该台阵的数据,科学家能获得地球内部精细图像,藉此考察地震和火山的过程。作为滚动台阵的补充,机动台阵被用于对关键目标进行详细观测和短期测量。美国台阵计划启动5年来,采集的数据已经提供了足以令科学界考虑重新审视地震物理、火山过程、核幔结构、活动变形构造、大陆结构及其演化、地球动力学和地壳流体等基本科学问题的基础资料。     

天山造山带岩石圈密度与磁性结构研究及其动力学分析

库尔勒—吉木萨尔剖面横跨塔里木盆地北缘、天山造山带和准噶尔盆地南缘.沿剖面完成了重磁联合反演,获得了岩石圈二维密度结构与二维磁性结构.结果发现,塔里木盆地与准噶尔盆地向天山造山带对冲.在地壳范围内,塔里木盆地北缘与准噶尔盆地南缘的平均密度较高,天山造山带的地壳平均密度较低.天山造山带具有较高的磁化强度,尤其表现在准噶尔盆地南缘至天山造山带中部的整个地壳范围内,预示着天山南北可能具有不同的构造演化历史、构造运动方式以及构造运动强度.在塔里木盆地与天山造山带以及准噶尔盆地与天山造山带的接触部位的上地幔顶部分别发现了低密度体,推测在塔里木盆地由南而北向天山造山带“层间插入与俯冲消减”,以及准噶尔盆地由北而南向天山造山带俯冲的过程中塔里木盆地北缘和准噶尔盆地南缘下地壳物质被带进天山造山带上地幔顶部.库尔勒—吉木萨尔剖面岩石圈二维密度结构与磁性结构为天山造山带的构造分段提供了岩石圈尺度的依据.     

PAH body burden and biomarker responses in mussels (Mytilus edulis) exposed to produced water from a North Sea oil field: laboratory and field assessments

In order to study the impact of produced water (PW) from a North Sea oil field on blue mussels (Mytilus edulis), chemical and biological markers were selected. A laboratory exposure (0.125%, 0.25% and 0.5% of PW) and a field study (6 stations 0.2-2 km from a PW discharge point) were conducted. In the laboratory study, PAH bioaccumulation increased in mussel soft tissue even at the lowest exposure dose. Micronuclei frequency demonstrated a dose-response pattern, whereas lysosomal membrane stability showed tendency towards a dose-response pattern. The same markers were assessed in the field study, biomarker analyses were consistent with the contamination level, as evaluated by mussel polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons body burden. Overall, obtained results confirmed the value of an ecotoxicological approach for a scientifically sound characterisation of biological effects induced by offshore oilfield operational discharges.     

Influence of a Brazilian sewage outfall on the toxicity and contamination of adjacent sediments

The submarine sewage outfall of Santos (SSOS) is situated in the Santos Bay (São Paulo, Brazil) and is potentially a significant source of contaminants to the adjacent marine ecosystem. The present study aimed to assess the influence of SSOS on the sediment toxicity and contamination at Santos Bay. At the disposal site, sediments tended to be finer, organically richer and exhibited higher levels of surfactants and metals, sometimes exceeding the “Threshold Effect Level” values. The SSOS influence was more evident toward the East, where the sediments exhibited higher levels of TOC, total S and metals during the summer 2000 sampling campaign. Sediment toxicity to amphipods was consistently detected in four of the five stations studied. Amphipod survival tended to correlate negatively to Hg, total N and % mud. This work provides evidence that the SSOS discharge affects the quality of sediments from Santos Bay, and that control procedures are warranted.     

Sources of ground water salinity on islands using 18O, 2H, and 34S

Stable isotopes of 18O and 2H in water, and 34S and 18O in dissolved SO4, are used to verify the interpretation of the chemical evolution and proposed sources of salinity for two islands that have undergone postglacial rebound. Results for delta18O and delta34S in dissolved SO4 on the Gulf Islands, southwest British Columbia, Canada, suggest a three-component mixing between (1) atmospheric SO4 derived largely from recharge of meteoric origin, (2) modern marine SO4 associated with either modern-day salt water intrusion or Pleistocene age sea water, and (3) terrestrial SO4. The age of the marine SO4 is uncertain based on the geochemistry and SO4 isotopes alone. Two options for mixing of saline ground waters are proposed--either between current-day marine SO4 and atmospheric SO4, or between older (Pleistocene age) marine SO4 and atmospheric SO4, delta18O and delta2H compositions are relatively consistent between both islands, with a few samples showing evidence of mixing with water that is a hybrid mixture of Fraser River water and ocean water. The isotopic composition of this hybrid water is approximately delta18O = 10 per thousand. delta18O and delta2H values for many saline ground waters plot close to the global meteoric water line, which is distinctly different from the local meteoric water line. This suggests a meteoric origin for ground waters that is different from the current isotopic composition of meteoric waters. It is proposed these waters may be late Pleistocene in age and were recharged when the island was submerged below sea level and prior to rebound at the end of the last glaciation.     

A Submillimeter HCN Laser in IRC +10216

We present subarcsecond thermal infrared imaging of HD 98800, a young quadruple system composed of a pair of low-mass spectroscopic binaries separated by 0&farcs;8 (38 AU), each with a K-dwarf primary. Images at wavelengths ranging from 5 to 24.5 μm show unequivocally that the optically fainter binary, HD 98800B, is the sole source of a comparatively large infrared excess on which a silicate emission feature is superposed. The excess is detected only at wavelengths of 7.9 μm and longer, peaks at 25 μm, and has a best-fit blackbody temperature of 150 K, indicating that most of the dust lies at distances greater than the orbital separation of the spectroscopic binary. We estimate the radial extent of the dust with a disk model that approximates radiation from the spectroscopic binary as a single source of equivalent luminosity. Given the data, the most likely values of disk properties in the ranges considered are Rin=5.0+/-2.5 AU, DeltaR=13+/-8 AU, lambda0=2+4-1.5 μm, gamma=0+/-2.5, and sigmatotal=16+/-3 AU2, where Rin is the inner radius, DeltaR is the radial extent of the disk, lambda0 is the effective grain size, gamma is the radial power-law exponent of the optical depth tau, and sigmatotal is the total cross section of the grains. The range of implied disk masses is 0.001-0.1 times that of the Moon. These results show that, for a wide range of possible disk properties, a circumbinary disk is far more likely than a narrow ring.