Assessment of cytochrome P450 1A in harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) using a minimally-invasive biopsy approach

Biomarkers of organochlorine exposure, such as the induction of cytochrome P450 1A (CYP1A), can be used to assess the impact of environmental contaminants on the health of free-ranging marine mammal populations. The objective of the present study was to measure CYP1A in skin and liver biopsies obtained from live harbour seals (Phoca vitulina). Twelve harbour seal pups, aged three to five weeks, were captured from the Fraser River estuary, British Columbia, Canada, and temporarily held in captivity. Skin ( approximately 60 mg) and liver ( approximately 40 mg) biopsies, obtained while seals were under general anaesthesia, yielded sufficient tissue for the measurement of CYP1A by immunoblot analysis and ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase activity. A short-term exposure experiment, in which harbour seals (n=3) were treated orally with beta-naphthoflavone (BNF), resulted in increased hepatic and cutaneous CYP1A protein levels, consistent with observations in other mammals. This study is the first to measure CYP1A in skin and liver biopsies from live harbour seals and to report in vivo BNF-associated CYP1A induction in a marine mammal. The results demonstrate that microsamples collected using minimally-invasive techniques can provide toxicologically-relevant information form marine mammals.     

Probing molecular-level transformations of dissolved organic matter: insights on photochemical degradation and protozoan modification of DOM from electrospray ionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry

Molecular-level characterization of natural organic matter (NOM) has been elusive due to the inherent complexity of natural organic mixtures and to the fact that individual components are often polar and macromolecular. Electrospray ionization (ESI) is a “soft” ionization technique that ionizes polar compounds from aqueous solution prior to injection into a mass spectrometer. The highest resolution and mass accuracy of compounds within NOM have been achieved when ESI is combined with an ultrahigh-resolution mass spectrometer such as the Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer (FT-ICR MS). With this technique, individual molecules within a variety of natural organic mixtures can be detected and their elemental composition can be determined. At low mass-to-charge (m/z) ratio, the resolution is high enough to assign exact molecular formulas allowing specific components of these mixtures to be identified. In addition to molecular identification, we can now use ESI FT-ICR MS to examine molecular-level changes in different organic mixtures as a function of relevant geo-processes, such as microbial alterations and photochemistry. Here we present the results from the application of ESI FT-ICR MS to two geochemical questions: (1) the effect of photoirradiation on the molecular composition of fulvic acids and (2) the role of protozoan grazers in the modification of DOM in aquatic systems.     

Risk-based decision-making for drilling waste discharges using a fuzzy synthetic evaluation technique

Offshore petroleum drilling wastes contain toxic substances that are potentially harmful to the marine ecosystem. Despite environmentally benign characteristics, wastes associated with synthetic-based fluids still contain a certain amount of pollutants due to contamination with formation oil and the presence of trace heavy metals in barite, which may pose risk when discharged into the marine environment. A framework is presented here for a decision support system for the selection of the best drilling waste discharge option. Uncertainties in the quantification of risk, cost and technical feasibility are expressed by fuzzy numbers. An analytical hierarchy process with a technique called fuzzy synthetic evaluation is employed to determine the best management alternative (discharge scenario).     

Photobleaching of chromophoric dissolved organic matter in natural waters: kinetics and modeling

The effects of monochromatic and polychromatic UV and visible (VIS) radiation on the optical properties (absorption and fluorescence) of chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) were examined for a Suwannee River fulvic acid (SRFA) standard and for water from the Delaware and Chesapeake Bays. The primary (direct) loss of absorption and fluorescence occurred at the irradiation wavelength(s), with smaller secondary (indirect) losses occurring outside the irradiation wavelength(s). The efficiency of both direct and indirect photobleaching decreased monotonically with increasing wavelength. Exposure to polychromatic light increased the CDOM absorption spectral slope (S), consistent with previous field measurements. An analysis of the monochromatic photobleaching kinetics argues that a model based on a simple superposition of multiple chromophores undergoing independent photobleaching cannot apply; this conclusion further implies that the absorption spectrum of CDOM cannot arise solely from a simple superposition of the spectra of numerous independent chromophores. The kinetics of CDOM absorption loss with the monochromatic irradiation were employed to create a simple, heuristic model of photobleaching. This model allowed us to examine the importance of the indirect photobleaching losses in determining the overall photobleaching rates as well as to model the photobleaching of natural waters under polychromatic light fields. Application of this model to natural waters closely predicted the change in the CDOM spectral shape caused by photodegradation. The time scale of this process was consistent with field observations acquired during the summertime for coastal waters in the Middle Atlantic Bight (MAB). The results indicate that the ratio of the photodegradation depth to the mixed layer depth is a key parameter controlling the rate of the photobleaching in surface waters.     

Reassessment of flood frequency using historical information for the River Ouse at York,UK (1200–2000)

Abstract

The reassessment of flood risk at York, UK, is pertinent in light of major flooding in November 2000, and heightened concerns of a perceived increase in flooding nationally. Systematic flood level readings from 1877 and a wealth of documentary records dating back as far as 1263 AD give the City of York a long and rich history of flood records. This extended flood record provides an opportunity to reassess estimates of flood frequency over a time scale not normally possible within flood frequency analysis. This paper re-evaluates flood frequency at York, considering the strengths and weaknesses in estimates resulting from four contrasting methods of analysis and their corresponding data: (a) single-site analysis of gauged annual maxima; (b) pooled analysis of multi-site gauged annual maxima; (c) combined analysis of systematic annual maxima augmented with historical peaks, and (d) analysis of only the very largest peaks using a Generalized Pareto Distribution. Use of the historical information was found to yield risk estimates which were lower and considered to be more credible than those achieved using gauged records alone.

Citation Macdonald, N. & Black, A. R. (2010) Reassessment of flood frequency using historical information for the River Ouse at York, UK (1200–2000). Hydrol. Sci. J. 55(7), 1152–1162.     

Determination of mercury biogeochemical fluxes in the remote Mackenzie River Basin,northwest Canada,using speciation of sulfur and organic carbon

The Mackenzie River Basin (MRB) in NW Canada is one of the least human-impacted large watersheds in the world. The western and eastern sub-basins of the MRB are also marked by contrasting geology, geomorphology, hydrology, and biology. These remarkable differences in a remote river basin provide a unique opportunity to probe the biogeochemical processes governing the sources, transport, and bioavailability of Hg at the terrestrial-marine interface and ultimately in the Arctic Ocean. Based on a large dataset of the concentration and speciation of Hg, S and organic matter in surface sediments across the MRB, a source-apportioned budget was constructed for Hg in the MRB. The results indicate that the Hg flux in the basin originates primarily from the weathering of sulfide minerals in the western mountainous sub-basin (∼78% of the total), followed by the erosion of coal deposits along the mainstream of the Mackenzie River (∼10%), with the remainder split between atmospheric inputs and organic matter-bound Hg (6% and 5%, respectively). Although the Hg flux from the eastern peatland sub-basin only accounts for ∼10% of the total riverine Hg flux, Hg in this region correlates strongly with labile organic matter, and will likely have a much stronger influence on local biota.     

Distribution of diagenetic alterations within depositional facies and sequence stratigraphic framework of fluvial sandstones: Evidence from the Petrohan Terrigenous Group,Lower Triassic,NW Bulgaria

Sequence stratigraphy of fluvial deposits is a controversial topic because changes in relative sea level will eventually have indirect impact on the spatial and temporal distribution of depositional facies. Changes in the relative sea level may influence the accommodation space in fluvial plains, and hence have impact on types of fluvial system, frequency of avulsion, and style of vertical and lateral accretion. This study aims to investigate whether depositional facies and changes in the fluvial system of the Lower Triassic Petrohan Terrigenous Group sandstones (NW Bulgaria) in response to changes in the relative sea level have an impact on the spatial and temporal distribution of diagenetic alterations.     

London MIST 2004

The annual one-day meeting of the MIST (Magnetosphere, Ionosphere and Solar–Terrestrial) community was held in November 2004 at Burlington House, with contributions on data and ideas ranging from Cassini to Cluster, with stops at many experiments in between.     

Deep-water carbonate concentrations in the southwest Pacific

We have compiled carbonate chemistry and sedimentary CaCO₃% data for the deep-waters (>1500 m water depth) of the southwest (SW) Pacific region. The complex topography in the SW Pacific influences the deep-water circulation and affects the carbonate ion concentration ([CO₃2−]), and the associated calcite saturation horizon (CSH, where ??_calcite=1). The Tasman Basin and the southeast (SE) New Zealand region have the deepest CSH at ∼3100 m, primarily influenced by middle and lower Circumpolar Deep Waters (m or lCPDW), while to the northeast of New Zealand the CSH is ∼2800 m, due to the corrosive influence of the old North Pacific deep waters (NPDW) on the upper CPDW (uCPDW). The carbonate compensation depth (CCD; defined by a sedimentary CaCO₃ content of <20%), also varies between the basins in the SW Pacific. The CCD is ∼4600 m to the SE New Zealand, but only ∼4000 m to the NE New Zealand. The CaCO₃ content of the sediment, however, can be influenced by a number of different factors other than dissolution; therefore, we suggest using the water chemistry to estimate the CCD. The depth difference between the CSH and CCD (??Z_CSH−CCD), however, varies considerably in this region and globally. The global ??Z_CSH−CCD appears to expand with increase in age of the deep-water, resulting from a shoaling of the CSH. In contrast the depth of the chemical lysocline (??_calcite=0.8) is less variable globally and is relatively similar, or close, to the CCD determined from the sedimentary CaCO₃%. Geochemical definitions of the CCD, however, cannot be used to determine changes in the paleo-CCD. For the given range of factors that influence the sedimentary CaCO₃%, an independent dissolution proxy, such as the foraminifera fragmentation % (>40%=foraminiferal lysocline) is required to define a depth where significant CaCO₃ dissolution has occurred back through time. The current foraminiferal lysocline for the SW Pacific region ranges from 3100-3500 m, which is predictably just slightly deeper than the CSH. This compilation of sediment and water chemistry data provides a CaCO₃ dataset for the present SW Pacific for comparison with glacial/interglacial CaCO₃ variations in deep-water sediment cores, and to monitor future changes in [CO₃2−] and dissolution of sedimentary CaCO₃ resulting from increasing anthropogenic CO₂.