Organic compounds in radiation fogs in Davis (California)

New stainless steel active fogwater collectors were designed and used in Davis (CA, USA) to collect fogwater for the speciation of organic matter. Organic compounds in fog samples were extracted by liquid–liquid extraction and analyzed by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. Numerous organic compounds, including various alkanes, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and alkanoic acids, have been identified in the fogwater samples. Higher molecular weight (MW) compounds are preferentially associated with an insoluble phase inside the fog drops, whereas lower molecular weight and more polar compounds are found predominantly in the dissolved phase. Concentrations in the dissolved phase were sometimes much higher than estimated by the compounds' aqueous solubilities.     

Northern fulmars as biological monitors of trends of plastic pollution in the eastern North Pacific

Marine plastic debris is a global issue, which highlights the need for internationally standardized methods of monitoring plastic pollution. The stomach contents of beached northern fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis) have proven a cost-effective biomonitor in Europe. However, recent information on northern fulmar plastic ingestion is lacking in the North Pacific. We quantified the stomach contents of 67 fulmars from beaches in the eastern North Pacific in 2009-2010 and found that 92.5% of fulmars had ingested an average of 36.8 pieces, or 0.385g of plastic. Plastic ingestion in these fulmars is among the highest recorded globally. Compared to earlier studies in the North Pacific, our findings indicate an increase in plastic ingestion over the past 40years. This study substantiates the use of northern fulmar as biomonitors of plastic pollution in the North Pacific and suggests that the high levels of plastic pollution in this region warrant further monitoring.     

High-resolution coastal hazard assessment along the French Riviera from co-seismic tsunamis generated in the Ligurian fault system

Natural Hazards - The French Riviera is a densely populated and touristic coast. It is also one of the most seismically active areas of the Western Mediterranean. This is evidenced by the Mw...     

The effect of nitrogen loading on a brackish estuarine faunal community: A stable isotope approach

Coastal ecosystems worldwide face increased nutrient enrichment from shoreline and watershed development and atmospheric pollution. We investigated the response of the faunal community of a small microtidal estuary dominated byRuppia maritima (widgeon grass) in Maine, United States, to increased nitrogen loading using an in situ mesocosm enrichment experiment. Community response was characterized by assessing quantitative shifts in macroinvertebrate community composition and identifying changes in food web structure using stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios of producers and consumers. The community was dominated by brackish water invertebrates including midge larvae, oligochaetes, damselfly larvae, amphipods, and ostracods. Experimental nutrient additions resulted in significantly lower densities of herbivorous chironomids and predatory damselflies and greater densities of deposit feeding oligochaetes. Grazing midge larvae (Chironomidae:Dicrotendipes, Cricotopus) consumed epiphytic algae under both natural and enriched conditions. Deposit feedingChironomus was dependent on allochthonous sources of detritus under natural conditions and exhibited a shift to autochthonous sources of detritus under enriched conditions. PredatoryEnallagma primarily consumed grazing chironomids under all but the highest loading conditions. Experimental nutrient loading resulted in an increase in generalist deposit feeders dependent on autochthonous sources of detritus.     

A Framework for Quantitative Assessment of Impacts Related to Energy and Mineral Resource Development

Natural resource planning at all scales demands methods for assessing the impacts of resource development and use, and in particular it requires standardized methods that yield robust and unbiased results. Building from existing probabilistic methods for assessing the volumes of energy and mineral resources, we provide an algorithm for consistent, reproducible, quantitative assessment of resource development impacts. The approach combines probabilistic input data with Monte Carlo statistical methods to determine probabilistic outputs that convey the uncertainties inherent in the data. For example, one can utilize our algorithm to combine data from a natural gas resource assessment with maps of sage grouse leks and piñon-juniper woodlands in the same area to estimate possible future habitat impacts due to possible future gas development. As another example: one could combine geochemical data and maps of lynx habitat with data from a mineral deposit assessment in the same area to determine possible future mining impacts on water resources and lynx habitat. The approach can be applied to a broad range of positive and negative resource development impacts, such as water quantity or quality, economic benefits, or air quality, limited only by the availability of necessary input data and quantified relationships among geologic resources, development alternatives, and impacts. The framework enables quantitative evaluation of the trade-offs inherent in resource management decision-making, including cumulative impacts, to address societal concerns and policy aspects of resource development.     

Quantitation of metallothionein mRNA from the New Zealand common bully (Gobiomorphus cotidianus) and its implications for biomonitoring

Metallothionein (MT) is a protein found in most eukaryotes where its primary role is the regulation of homeostasis of the essential metals copper and zinc. MTs have an additional protective role through their binding of toxic metals such as cadmium and mercury. Increased expression of MT in response to harmful levels of these metals has been demonstrated for several aquatic species. In this study, the expression of MT in the liver tissue of the New Zealand common bully Gobiomorphus cotidianus was measured by quantifying MT mRNA. A statistically significant increase in MT expression was observed in fish exposed to copper for 48 h, but not those exposed to zinc. Field sampling of common bullies showed a wide variation in individual hepatic MT mRNA levels which did not correlate with fish age, sex, or sampling location. A comparison of two populations of common bullies from a polluted and a control site showed a two‐fold higher mean MT mRNA level in fish from the polluted site. Implications for using MT expression in the common bully as a bio‐monitoring tool are discussed.     

Spatial and Interannual Variability in Winter Mortality of the Blue Crab (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Callinectes sapidus</Emphasis>) in the Chesapeake Bay

The blue crab, Callinectes sapidus, is an ecologically and economically valuable species in Chesapeake Bay. Field surveys and laboratory experiments indicate that blue crab mortality is significant during severe winters. We applied a temperature and salinity-dependent survival model to empirical temperature and salinity data to explore spatial and interannual patterns in overwintering mortality. Harmonic regression analysis and geostatistical techniques were used to create spatially explicit maps of estimated winter duration, average temperature, average salinity, and resulting crab survival probability for the winters of 1990–2004. Predicted survival was highest in the warmer, saline waters of the lower Bay and decreased with increasing latitude up bay. There was also significant interannual variation with survival being lowest after the severe winters of 1996 and 2003. We combine the survival probability maps with maps of blue crab abundance to show how winter mortality may reduce blue crab abundance prior to the start of the harvesting season.     

Behavior of Re and Os during low-temperature alteration: Results from Himalayan soils and altered black shales

Re-Os analyses were performed on five soil profiles developed on silicate lithologies in the Narayani drainage basin of the Himalayas, as well as on several altered black shales and associated alteration phases. The results indicate that all of these samples have lost large amounts of Re. This Re loss approached 100% in the black shale-derived soils, which also most probably lost substantial quantities of Os. The near constancy of Os and Re concentrations with depth indicates that this loss occurred quite early in the alteration process, rather than progressively during the course of soil development. A slight decrease in ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os was observed toward the surface of the two black shale soil profiles, possibly indicating a minor preferential mobility of radiogenic ¹⁸⁷Os for this lithology. In the black shale-derived saprolite and soils, the loss of Re and Os was related to the loss of organic carbon. The importance of this phase is underscored by the fact that organic material separated from a black shale sample accounted for nearly all of the Os contained in the whole rock. Analysis of alteration phases from the surface of a weathered black shale showed that Os liberated during alteration was partially reprecipitated in Fe oxides, with Os isotopic compositions very similar to that of the original rock, whereas Re was removed with the fluid phase.These results demonstrate the disproportionately large role that black shale weathering may play in determining the Re and Os contents of continental runoff and, thus, ultimately of seawater, but they also emphasize the possible complexity of this process. The data suggest that a large fraction of the Os contained in black shales is released during chemical alteration, which is apparently not the case for most other silicate rocks. Therefore, the potential contribution of black shales to the dissolved Os budget of runoff and river water may be even greater than that expected from the high Os concentrations of these rocks. The extent to which this Os will affect the seawater Os composition depends on how efficiently it is recaptured by secondary phases such as Fe-Mn oxides in situ or during transport. These results also underscore the high mobility of Re with respect to Os at every stage in the erosional process, thus explaining the order of magnitude increase in Re/Os ratio from the black shale source rocks to seawater.