Geochemical processes controlling arsenic mobility in groundwater: A case study of arsenic mobilization and natural attenuation

The behavior of As in the subsurface environment was examined along a transect of groundwater monitoring wells at a Superfund site, where enhanced reductive dechlorination (ERD) is being used for the remediation of groundwater contaminated with chlorinated solvents. The transect was installed parallel to the groundwater flow direction through the treatment area. The ERD technology involves the injection of organic C (OC) to stimulate in situ microbial dechlorination processes. A secondary effect of the ERD treatment at this site, however, is the mobilization of As, as well as Fe and Mn. The concentrations of these elements are low in groundwater collected upgradient of the ERD treatment area, indicating that, in the absence of the injected OC, the As that occurs naturally in the sediment is relatively immobile. Batch experiments conducted using sediments from the site inoculated with an Fe(III)- and As(V)-reducing bacterium and amended with lactate resulted in mobilization of As, Fe and Mn, suggesting that As mobilization in the field is due to microbial processes.     

Ecological characteristics of Walleye pollock eggs and larvae in the southeastern Bering Sea during the late 1970s

Walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) is an ecologically and economically important groundfish in the eastern Bering Sea. Its population size fluctuates widely, driving and being driven by changes in other components of the ecosystem. It is becoming apparent that dramatic shifts in climate occur on a decadal scale, and these “regime shifts” strongly affect the biota. This paper examines quantitative collections of planktonic eggs and larvae of pollock from the southeastern Bering Sea during 1976–1979. Mortality, advection, and growth rates were estimated, and compared among the years encompassing the 1970s’ regime shift. These data indicate that pollock spawning starts in late February over the basin north of Bogoslof Island. Over the shelf, most spawning occurs north of Unimak Island near the 100 m isobath in early or mid April. Pollock eggs are advected to the northwest from the main spawning area at 5–10 cm/sec. Larvae are found over the basin north of Bogoslof Island in April, and over the shelf between Unimak Island and the Priblof Islands in May. Compared to 1977, the spawning period appeared to be later in 1976 (a cold year) and earlier in 1978 (a warm year) in the study area. At the lower temperatures in 1976, egg duration would be longer and thus egg mortality would operate over a longer period than in the other years. Mean larval growth appeared to be lower in 1976 than in 1977 and 1979. Estimated egg mortality rate in 1977 was 0.6 in April and 0.3 in early May.     

Petroleum prospectivity of the Canada Basin, Arctic Ocean

Reconnaissance seismic reflection data indicate that Canada Basin is a >700,000 sq. km. remnant of the Amerasia Basin of the Arctic Ocean that lies south of the Alpha-Mendeleev Large Igneous Province, which was constructed across the northern part of the Amerasia Basin between about 127 and 89-83.5 Ma. Canada Basin was filled by Early Jurassic to Holocene detritus from the Beaufort-Mackenzie Deltaic System, which drains the northern third of interior North America, with sizable contributions from Alaska and Northwest Canada. The basin contains roughly 5 or 6 million cubic km of sediment. Three fourths or more of this volume generates low amplitude seismic reflections, interpreted to represent hemipelagic deposits, which contain lenses to extensive interbeds of moderate amplitude reflections interpreted to represent unconfined turbidite and amalgamated channel deposits.Extrapolation from Arctic Alaska and Northwest Canada suggests that three fourths of the section in Canada Basin is correlative with stratigraphic sequences in these areas that contain intervals of hydrocarbon source rocks. In addition, worldwide heat flow averages suggest that about two thirds of Canada Basin lies in the oil or gas windows. Structural, stratigraphic and combined structural and stratigraphic features of local to regional occurrence offer exploration targets in Canada Basin, and at least one of these contains bright spots. However, deep water (to almost 4000 m), remoteness from harbors and markets, and thick accumulations of seasonal to permanent sea ice (until its possible removal by global warming later this century) will require the discovery of very large deposits for commercial success in most parts of Canada Basin.     

North Pacific Synthesis of the Joint Global Ocean Flux Study: Overview

This special issue is comprised of 13 papers, including this overview, and focuses on the synthesis of the Joint Global Ocean Flux Study (JGOFS) in the North Pacific which took place from 1997 through 2003. The effort was led by the JGOFS North Pacific Synthesis Group, with the aim of quantifying CO₂ drawdown by physical and biological pumps in the North Pacific by identifying and studying the regional, seasonal to inter-annual variations in the key processes, and understanding their regulating mechanisms. Emphasis was placed on the similarities and differences of the biogeochemical regimes in the eastern and western subarctic Pacific. Effort was also made to address the future research directions which arose from the scientific findings during the North Pacific JGOFS process study. A brief overview of the papers from view points of CO₂ drawdown by physical and biological pumps, spatial variability, and temporal variability from seasonal to decadal scales is made, followed by suggestions for the directions of future research. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Spatial distribution pattern of seafloor hydrothermal vents to the southeastern Kueishan Tao offshore Taiwan Island

Investigations of the diffusion activities both within and outside the seafloor hydrothermal vents, as well as related mineral genesis, have been one of the key focuses of ocean biogeochemistry studies. Many hydrothermal vents are distributed close to the southern Okinawa Trough on the less-than-30-m deep shallow seafloor off Kueishan Tao, northeast of Taiwan Island. Investigations of temperature, pH and Eh at four depths of hydrothermal plume were carried out near Kueishan Tao at the white(24.83°N, 121.96°E) and yellow(24.83°N, 121.96°E) vents. An 87 h of temperature time series observation-undertaken near the white vent showed that tide is the main factor affecting the background environment. Based on the observed data, 3-dimensional sliced diffusion fields were obtained and analyzed. It was concluded that the plume diffused mainly from north to south due to ebb tide. The yellow vent's plume could effect as far as the white vent surface. From the temperature diffusion field, the vortices of the plume were observed. The Eh negative abnormality was a better indicator to search for hydrothermal plumes and locate hydrothermal vents than high temperature and low pH abnormalities.     

渤海海水中悬浮体的研究

陆源悬浮体是边缘海海底沉积物的主要来源.所以,悬浮体(suspended matter)的调查研究是解决边缘海海底沉积作用的一个重要环节.当我们研究河口附近海域以及海底沉积物的通量平衡过程时,也必须对悬浮体的分布及其数量变化等进行调查.     

Roles of Continental Shelves and Marginal Seas in the Biogeochemical Cycles of the North Pacific Ocean

Most marginal seas in the North Pacific are fed by nutrients supported mainly by upwelling and many are undersaturated with respect to atmospheric CO₂ in the surface water mainly as a result of the biological pump and winter cooling. These seas absorb CO₂ at an average rate of 1.1 ± 0.3 mol C m⁻²yr⁻¹ but release N₂/N₂O at an average rate of 0.07 ± 0.03 mol N m⁻²yr⁻¹. Most of primary production, however, is regenerated on the shelves, and only less than 15% is transported to the open oceans as dissolved and particulate organic carbon (POC) with a small amount of POC deposited in the sediments. It is estimated that seawater in the marginal seas in the North Pacific alone may have taken up 1.6 ± 0.3 Gt (10¹⁵ g) of excess carbon, including 0.21 ± 0.05 Gt for the Bering Sea, 0.18 ± 0.08 Gt for the Okhotsk Sea; 0.31 ± 0.05 Gt for the Japan/East Sea; 0.07 ± 0.02 Gt for the East China and Yellow Seas; 0.80 ± 0.15 Gt for the South China Sea; and 0.015 ± 0.005 Gt for the Gulf of California. More importantly, high latitude marginal seas such as the Bering and Okhotsk Seas may act as conveyer belts in exporting 0.1 ± 0.08 Gt C anthropogenic, excess CO₂ into the North Pacific Intermediate Water per year. The upward migration of calcite and aragonite saturation horizons due to the penetration of excess CO₂ may also make the shelf deposits on the Bering and Okhotsk Seas more susceptible to dissolution, which would then neutralize excess CO₂ in the near future. Further, because most nutrients come from upwelling, increased water consumption on land and damming of major rivers may reduce freshwater output and the buoyancy effect on the shelves. As a result, upwelling, nutrient input and biological productivity may all be reduced in the future. As a final note, the Japan/East Sea has started to show responses to global warming. Warmer surface layer has reduced upwelling of nutrient-rich subsurface water, resulting in a decline of spring phytoplankton biomass. Less bottom water formation because of less winter cooling may lead to the disappearance of the bottom water as early as 2040. Or else, an anoxic condition may form as early as 2200 AD. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Changing trust relations within the Dutch fishing industry: The case of National Study Groups

This paper focuses on changing trust relationships among fishermen following new governance arrangements. The previous ‘thick’ trust relationships that characterized the Dutch fisheries industry under a neo-corporatist arrangement had resulted in an isolation of local fishermen groups vis-à-vis outsiders. However, under new governance arrangements, in particular the so-called Study Groups, these trust relationships are changing. The establishment of Study Groups, where fishermen from different localities have to cooperate on sustainability innovations in order to receive subsidies, lead to more diversity within the industry, more collaborations across localities and new forms of ‘thin’ trust. As such, these Study Groups can be understood as successful experiments in further opening up of the fisheries community.     

Stramonita haemastoma as a bioindicator for organotin contamination in coastal environments

Stramonita haemastoma was investigated as a suitable bioindicator of TBT and TPhT contamination in the tropical Atlantic Ocean by: 1. Imposex induction in healthy females after inoculation with TBT and TPhT in the laboratory; and 2. Determining incidence of imposex in S. haemastoma collected from areas with various levels of tributyltin (TBT) and triphenyltin (TPhT) and determining the concentrations of these chemical in its tissues and that of its prey, the mussell Perna pernas. Imposex intensities and organotin concentrations in tissues showed good correlation, indicating S. haemastoma as a reliable bioindicator of TBT and TPhT contamination in coastal waters. Body burden threshold of TBT and TPhT for imposex induction was estimated to be 10-20 ng g(-1).     

北大别燕子河片麻岩的锆石U-Pb年龄：印支期变质事件的确定

本文对北大别燕子河地区英云闪长质片麻岩中的锆石进行了单颗粒U-Pb年龄测定。该片麻岩中存在两种类型的锆石,一种是片麻岩原岩中的岩浆锆石,在后期的变质事件中经历了不同程度的Pb丢失;另一种是变质作用过程中的新生锆石。5个分析点拟合出一条很好的不一致线,得到上下交点的年龄分别为880±110Na和228±13Ma(MSWD=1.1),其中上交点的年龄代表了片麻岩原岩的形成时代,下交点的年龄代表了变质作用发生的时间。变质锆石给出了238Ma的一致年龄,与不一致线给出的下交点年龄在误差范围内相同。这一结果表明北大别片麻岩也经历了印支期变质作用。北大别地体为扬子板块的北缘,华北与扬子板块的缝合线应位于北大别以北。