Geomagnetic Pc3 Pulsations During the Total Solar Eclipse on Aug 11, 1999

The solar eclipse on August 11, 1999, observed in the region covered by many geomagnetic observatories, has offered a unique opportunity to look for an effect of the eclipse on geomagnetic pulsations. The pulsation activity digital data have been taken from Budkov Observatory in the Czech Republic (in the X component only), from observatories in Germany (Niemegk, Fürstenfeldbruck, Bad Bergzabern), in Hungary (Nagycenk), and for comparison in South Africa (Hermanus, conjugate-point station), and in Finland (Sodankylä, far from the eclipse zone). At all these stations the field in all three component has been recorded. The pulsation amplitudes in the X component exhibit a long-term minimum near the time of the eclipse. Spectral analysis of selected short intervals confirmed this decrease and also revealed a decrease of the average pulsation period during the eclipse. Such a change in the amplitude or in the period was not observed outside of the eclipse interval or in other days. Investigation in some narrower frequency bands showed that the maximal decrease occurred in the 15–20 s band. All these changes can be found in records from all the stations near the eclipse totality belt, also in records at the conjugate-point station, where no eclipse occurred. No signature has been found in records at the station situated far from the eclipse zone.     

太湖梅梁湾春季浮游植物初级生产力

用黑白瓶测氧法对梅梁湾春季浮游植物初级生产力的变化特征进行研究,探讨了初级生产力的日变化、垂直变化、区域分布、浮游植物现存量与初级生产力的关系以及不同曝光时间对P-I曲线的影响.结果表明,梅梁湾浮游植物初级生产力存在明显的日变化,最大值出现在10:00-14:00;初级生产力在梅梁湾分布呈现为从湾内向湾口逐渐递减的趋势;除表层水受光抑制影响使其生产力相对较低外,初级生产力随水深的增加而降低;初级生产力与叶绿素a存在显著的正相关,用水柱层平均叶绿素a浓度来估算初级生产力比用表层叶绿素a浓度来估算要更为精确;短的曝光时间往往带来高的初级生产力和同化系数.     

Mercury Circulation in Aquatic Environment. Part 2: Metabolism of Methyl and Phenyl Mercury in Phytoplankton

Biotransformation of phenyl and methyl mercury chloride was studied in experiments with planktonic algae Chlorella kessleri, Scenedesmus obliquus and blue-green algae Microcystis incerta. To algal cultures cultivated in an inorganic medium the labelled phenyl or methyl mercury hydroxide was added separately in the phase of the logarithmic growth, the resultant concentration being 3.2 × 10^?7 M. In intervals of 0, 1, 3, 7, 10 and 14 days samples of the algae and medium were analysed for the total amount of mercury and for the presence of phenyl or methyl mercury. It was found that both methyl and phenyl mercury had accumulated very rapidly in the algae and that up to 70% of ²⁰³Hg added was present in the algae during the first 72 hours of the experiment. From the 2nd day onwards, however, methyl and phenyl mercury changed rapidly into inorganic mercury so that by the end of the experiment almost all of the mercury present in algae and the medium was in the form of inorganic mercury.     

日本古代的一次可能的日全食与地球自转变化

利用古代日食观测记载研究地球自转长期变化的方法和已有的结果为基础,研究了日本的古书中记载的可能与古代一次日全食有关的“天门”传说,及朝鲜的古书中与此有关的记载。本文的结果支持一些学者认为这个传说是由发生于公元158年7月13日的日全食引起的观点,并在历书时ET系统下计算分析了该日食的参数,由此得到表示地球自转变化的△T值约为2．22小时。     

Joint observation results of Na layer and ionosphere in Wuhan during the Total Solar Eclipse

During the total solar eclipse on July 22, 2009 in Wuhan, the joint observation test of Na layer and ionosphere was conducted by using the daytime observation atmospheric lidar and the GPS ionosphere detector. The results show that the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of Na layer density slightly narrowed during the total solar eclipse and broadened after the eclipse, while the height of Na peak slightly decreased in the eclipse and increased after the eclipse. These implying that Na layer changes reflect the rapid process of sunrise and sunset. The ionosphere total electron content (TEC) and the sky background light noise also presented an obvious fluctuation characteristic with the changes of solar irradiation during the process of total solar eclipse. The difference lies in that the changes of FWHM of Na layer atoms are much slower than that of ionosphere, the reason for this might be that the Na layer, after being disturbed by the total solar eclipse, will generate a series of complicated photochemical reactions and momentum transport processes, and then recombine the Na atoms. The Na atoms to be detected by the lidar need a lag process, which rightly conforms to the theoretical simulated results.     

Endocrine Disrupters in the Aquatic Environment: An Overview

Although a relatively new area of environmental research, the field of endocrine disruption has grown very rapidly, and currently many hundreds, perhaps even a few thousand, papers are published annually on the many different aspects covered by the field. As far as endocrine disruption in wildlife is concerned, most attention has been focused on aquatic organisms, for two reasons. Firstly, the aquatic environment receives most of the pollutants intentionally released into the environment, through effluents from wastewater treatment plants, and secondly because many of the best documented examples of endocrine disruption in wildlife are of partially or completely aquatic species. These two reasons are probably not unconnected, of course. Hence, aquatic organisms can receive continuous exposure to endocrine‐disrupting chemicals throughout their lives, albeit usually to low concentrations of these chemicals. Analysis of effluents has identified many of the endocrine‐disrupting chemicals present, and shown that these are both natural and man‐made, and vary greatly in potency. Most attention has been directed to identifying the main estrogenic chemicals, because many of the effects reported in wildlife appear to be a consequence of ‘feminization’ of males. However, chemical analysis of effluents has also demonstrated that chemicals with other types of endocrine activity are present, such as androgens, anti‐androgens, progestagens, etc. The effects (if any, of course) of such chemicals on aquatic organisms are unknown, and largely uninvestigated, presently. Much of the biological research has centred on the effects of estrogenic chemicals, especially to fish. These effects, such as elevated vitellogenin concentrations and intersexuality, have to date been studied almost exclusively at the level of the individual, and hence whether endocrine‐disrupting chemicals cause population‐level consequences is largely unknown (the undeniable effects of TBT on molluscs, leading to local extinctions, being the exception). It is my opinion that rather too much of the recent research has not advanced our understanding of endocrine disruption a great deal, and we are probably not much further forward now than we were five years or so ago. It is surely time to tackle some of the outstanding, unresolved issues, such as the impact of endocrine disruption at the population level, and the issue of how organisms respond when exposed to complex mixtures of endocrine active chemicals. Such research will not be easy, and will require multidisciplinary teams, including people with expertise in areas not yet involved in the field of endocrine disruption, such as mathematical modellers. However, until such research is done, it will not be possible to decide how important an issue endocrine disruption is to wildlife, and how that importance compares to the other factors adversely affecting wildlife, such as habitat loss, climate change, and the introduction of exotic species and novel diseases.     

Seasonal and Year-to-Year Variations of Phytoplankton Primary Production in the Rybinsk Reservoir: The Effect of Weather and Climate Variations

Water Resources - The seasonal and long-term dynamics of phytoplankton primary production has been studied in the Rybinsk Reservoir (Upper Volga) in 2005–2014. A positive correlation has been...     

Geomagnetic Field Variations during the Total Solar Eclipse of 2 July 2019 in La Serena,Chile

Geomagnetism and Aeronomy - The total solar eclipse on July 2, 2019, has been studied by using data of the La Serena ground magnetic station in Chile located in the path of the totality (at...     

Use of Plant Bioassays for the Detection of Genotoxins in the Aquatic Environment

The present article describes the use of plant bioassays for the detection of genotoxins in the aquatic environment and gives an overview of test methods, their detection spectrum for environmental mutagens and carcinogens and their limitations and pitfalls. The most widely used test systems are micronucleus assays with meiotic cells of Tradescantia and with meristematic root tip cells of Allium and Vicia. In the last years, protocols for single cell gel electrophoresis assays have been developed, which can be conducted with a variety of species. Also various gene mutation test procedures have been developed with plants but they have hardly ever been used in environmental studies. Plants detect a broad variety of environmentally relevant genotoxins, in particular directly acting compounds. Many pesticides and industrial chemicals caused positive results; plant assays are also a unique tool for the detection of DNA‐reactive carcinogenic heavy metals in the environment. In many studies with complex mixtures, positive results were obtained which indicates that plants are sufficiently sensitive to detect effects without concentration of water samples. One of the shortcomings of the use of plants as indicators is their lack of sensitivity towards certain classes of promutagens such as nitrosamines, heterocyclic amines, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). However, the former compounds are hardly encountered in the environment and PAHs can easily be detected chemically and in other mutagenicity tests. Taken together, the currently available data show that plant bioassays are a useful component of test batteries for environmental monitoring.     

The Production of Hydroxylamine by Aquatic Organisms

In batch tests with Chlorlla pyrenoidosa, Ankistrodesmus falcatus, Coelastrum cambricum and Scenedesmus obliquus it is demonstrated that hydroxylamine as an extracellular product of metabolism is excreted by these algae into water. The hydroxylamine production is proportional to the number of cells and to the physiological state of the algae. A mixed population of aquatic bacteria does not show any hydroxylamine production, the hydroxylamine concentration in the medium of culture of algae being reduced by their presence.     

A Nonlinear Model of Contaminant Transformations in an Aquatic Environment

A nonlinear model of the decomposition of a multicomponent contaminant is developed with allowance made for the distribution of components over their reactivity. Model application is illustrated by the analysis of published empirical data on organic matter biodegradation in water column and bottom sediments, in an activated-sludge bioreactor, and the biological absorption and enzymatic destruction of organic matter by macrophytes. Photodestruction, chemical destruction, and sedimentation are also considered. The nonlinear model is compared with a first-order reaction equation.__________Translated from Vodnye Resursy, Vol. 32, No. 3, 2005, pp. 322–336.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Dolgonosov, Gubernatorova.     

Features of the Ionospheric Total Electronic Content Response to the Annular Solar Eclipse of June 21, 2020

Geomagnetism and Aeronomy - The features of the annular solar eclipse of June 21, 2020, in variations of the ionospheric total electron content (TEC) were analyzed using GPS observations of the IGS...     

Mercury Circulation in Aquatic Bioconeses. Part 1: Mercury (II)-Metabolism in Phytoplankton

The metabolism of inorganic mercury has been studied in stationary cultures of planktonic algae Chlorella kessleri, Scenedesmus obliquus and Microcystis incerta that were exposed for 14 days to the concentration of 2 × 10^?7 M of Hg(II). Individual chemical forms of mercury were determined in algae and in the culture medium at regular intervals. All the studied phytoplankton species started to metabolize mercury immediately after its application, with the exception of the blue-green alga Microcystis incerta. The accumulation of mercury proceeds without interruption till the end of the experiment. After a 14 days cultivation about 60… 80% of added mercury was present in algal cells and the portion of mercury washable from the cell surface did not exceed 2%. It was found that more than 99,5% of mercury in cultivation medium and more than 99,5% of mercury in algae was present in the form of Hg(II). A transformation of inorganic mercury to methyl-, or phenyl-mercury due to the action of algae was not observed.     

太湖水环境面临的主要问题、研究动态与初步进展

本文对太湖水环境研究作了一个简单的回顾,指出了这几十年工作所取得的成就,如太湖进出污染物调查和水质评估,太湖水体光辐射观测与模拟等,结合国家有关主湖治理措施与方案,提出了“九五”工作应该着重在湖泊生态管理模型,水土界面主蓝藻水华爆发机制等领域,通过对当前国际上在这些领域中研究进展情况的回顾,特别介绍了在湖泊水动力学的观测,解释,模拟和应用方面,在湖泊藻类生长以及水结出现与湖泊光照条件,营养盐水平的     

Structure and Production Potential of Summer Phytoplankton of Lake Baikal in the Present Period

Water Resources - A study of the structure and production parameters of phytoplankton (biomass, photosynthesis rate, chlorophyll a content, and assimilation numbers) in the coastal and pelagic...     

The Role of Dispersants in the Processes of Oil Transformation and Oxidation in Aquatic Environment

The role of dispersants in the processes of water cleaning from oil is studied, and new physicochemical means to intensify the natural transformation of oil are proposed.