Environmental Factors Contributing to the Development and Demise of a Toxic Dinoflagellate (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Karlodinium veneficum</Emphasis>) Bloom in a Shallow,Eutrophic, Lagoonal Estuary

A dense bloom of the ichthyotoxic dinoflagellate Karlodinium veneficum was discovered in the Neuse River Estuary, North Carolina, on 19 October 2006 and was associated with four subsequent fish kills. Microscopic, photopigment, DNA, and toxicological techniques confirmed bloom identity and toxicity. High-resolution spatio-temporal data from ship-board and fixed automated sampling stations provided a unique opportunity to investigate the environmental conditions that initiated, maintained, and terminated the K. veneficum bloom. Bloom initiation and growth were favored by high nutrient availability and reduced dispersal during the period of declining riverine discharge after Tropical Storm Ernesto. K. veneficum out-competed other co-occurring dinoflagellates, perhaps because of the production of karlotoxins that are known to act as grazing deterrents and to facilitate mixotrophic feeding. Once the bloom was established, small-scale hydrodynamic processes, coupled with vertical migration, concentrated cells along a frontal convergence to high densities (>200,000 cells per milliliter). By 26 October 2006, wind mixing and possible nutrient stress disrupted the bloom. Release of cell-bound toxins during the bloom collapse likely accounted for the associated fish kill events where fish were reported as exhibiting typical symptoms of karlotoxin poisoning. The dynamics of this bloom underscore the tight control of harmful algal blooms by meteorological forcing, hydrology, and sediment nutrient input in this shallow lagoonal estuary.     

Below- and Aboveground Spartina alterniflora Production in a Louisiana Salt Marsh

The monthly variations of below- and aboveground biomass of Spartina alterniflora were documented for a south Louisiana salt marsh from March 2004 to March 2005, and in March 2006 and 2007. The annual production rate above- and belowground was 1821 and 11,676 g m^?2, respectively (Smalley method), and the annual production rate per biomass belowground was 10.7 g dry weight^?1, which are highs along the latitudinal distributions of the plant’s range. The average root + rhizome/shoot ratio (R&R/S) was 2.6:1, which is lower than the R&R/S ratios of 4 to 5.1 reported for Spartina sp. marshes in the northeastern US. The belowground biomass increased from July to September and fluctuated between October and November, after which it declined until February when the growing season began. The belowground biomass was dominated by rhizomes, which declined precipitously in spring and then rose to a seasonal high in the month before declining again as the late summer rise in inflorescence began. Over half of the root biomass in a 30-cm soil profile was in the upper 10 cm, and in the 10- to 20-cm profile for rhizomes. The maximum March biomass above- and belowground was four to five times that of the minimum biomass over the four sampling years. The net standing stock (NSS) of N and P in live biomass aboveground compared to that in the belowground biomass was about 1.7 times higher and equal, respectively, but the NSS of N and P for the live + dead biomass was about six times higher belowground. The average nitrogen/phosphorous molar ratios of 16:1 aboveground is in agreement with the often tested N limitation of biomass accumulation aboveground, whereas the 37:1 belowground ratio suggests that there is an influence of P on R&R foraging for P belowground. Some implications for management and restoration are, in part, that salt marshes should be evaluated and examined using information on the plant’s physiology and production both below- and aboveground.     

A Numerical Simulation of Residual Circulation in Tampa Bay. Part II: Lagrangian Residence Time

Lagrangian retention and flushing are examined by advecting neutrally buoyant point particles within a circulation field generated by a numerical ocean model of Tampa Bay. Large temporal variations in Lagrangian residence time are found under realistic changes in boundary conditions. Two 90-day time periods are examined. The first (P1) is characterized by low freshwater inflow and weak baroclinic circulation. The second (P2) has high freshwater inflow and strong baroclinic circulation. At the beginning of both time periods, 686,400 particles are released uniformly throughout the bay. Issues relating to particle distribution and flushing are examined at three different spatial scales: (1) at the scale of the entire bay, (2) the four major regions within the bay, and (3) at the scale of individual model grid cells. Two simple theoretical models for the particle number over time, N(t), are fit to the particle counts from the ocean model. The theoretical models are shown to represent N(t) reasonably well when considering the entire bay, allowing for straightforward calculation of baywide residence times: 156 days for P1 and 36 days for P2. However, the accuracy of these simple models decreases with decreasing spatial scale. This is likely due to the fact that particles may exit, reenter, or redistribute from one region to another in any sequence. The smaller the domain under consideration, the more this exchange process dominates. Therefore, definitions of residence time need to be modified for “non-local” situations. After choosing a reasonable definition, and removal of the tidal and synoptic signals, the residence times at each grid cell in P1 is found to vary spatially from a few days to 90 days, the limit of the calculation, with an average residence time of 53 days. For P2, the overall spatial pattern is more homogeneous, and the residence times have an average value of 26 days.     

Groundwater flow modeling for effective implementation of landslide stability enhancement measures

This paper deals with groundwater hydrology at a prominent fracture zone landslide slope (Nuta–Yone landslides) in Japan with an objective to explore an efficient method for the application of landslide stability enhancement measures. The correlation analyses between the hydrological parameters and ground surface movement data at this landslide resulted in low correlation values indicating that the geological formation of the area is extremely complex. For the purpose of understanding the groundwater flow behavior in the landslide area, a three-dimensional transient groundwater flow model was prepared for a part of the landslide slope, where the levels of effectiveness of applied landslide stability enhancement measures (in the form of multilayered deep horizontal drains) are different, and was calibrated against the measured water surface elevations at different piezometer locations. The parameter distributions in the calibrated model and the general directions of the groundwater flow in terms of flow vectors and the results of particle tracking at the model site were interpreted to understand the reasons for variations in effectiveness of existing landslide stability enhancement measures and to find potentially better locations for the implementation of future landslide stability enhancement measures. From the modeling results, it was also understood that groundwater flow model can be effectively used in better planning and locating the landslide stability enhancement measures.     

印度板块和亚洲大陆在何时何地碰撞

印度板块和亚洲大陆的初始碰撞时间是所有相关的喜马拉雅-西藏造山体系演化模式的主控条件,并严重影响到对众多与青藏高原隆升和东亚大陆挤出相关的地质过程速率的解释,以及对新生代全球气候变化的理解。尽管印度板块和亚洲大陆汇聚的速率在55Ma突然减缓被广泛地认为是初始碰撞的标志,但这次碰撞所造成的主要构造效应直到20多个百万年以后才显现出来。对印度板块和亚洲大陆相对位置的重新估算,表明它们在55Ma时并没有达到可以彼此发生碰撞的距离。基于来自西藏新的野外证据和对已有数据的重新评估,认为初始碰撞发生在始新世—渐新世之交（约34Ma）,并对55Ma时发生的地质事件提出了另一种解释     

Application of an environmentally optimum cooling water system design in water and energy conservation

Recirculating cooling water systems are consist of a cooling tower and heat-exchanger network which conventionally have a parallel configuration. However, reuse of water between different cooling duties enables cooling water networks to be designed with series arrangements. This will results in performance improvement and increased cooling tower capacity. Research on recirculating cooling water systems has mostly focused on the individual components. However, a particular design method represented by Kim and Smith accounts for the whole system interactions. In this study, the Kim and Smith design method is expanded and a comprehensive simulation model of recirculating cooling system was developed to account for the interaction between the cooling tower performance and the heat-exchanger network configuration. Regarding this model and considering cycle water quality through introducing ozone treatment technology, a modern methodology of recirculating cooling water system design was established and developed. This technique, called the integrated ozone treatment cooling system design, is a superior designed tool based on pinch analysis and mathematical programing. It also ensures maximum water and energy conservation, minimum cost and environmental impacts. Related coding in MATLAB version 7.3 was used for the illustrative example to get optimal values in cooling water design method computations. The result of the recently introduced design methodology was compared with the Kim and Smith design method.     

Ability of indigenous Bacillus licheniformis and Bacillus subtilis in microbial enhanced oil recovery

Microbially produced lipopeptide have been isolated and studied for microbial enhanced oil recovery. About 60 gram positive bacteria isolated from soil contaminated with crude oil, near the crude oil storage tank in Tehran Refinery, Tehran, Iran. However, most of these studies have produced lipopeptide by one of the pure-culture microbes isolated in a laboratory. Among the isolates, heamolytic tests revealed two biosurfactant producers. The isolated strains were designated as C2, E1. By using morphological, biochemical and molecular biology tests (16 SrRNA), the strains identified as Bacillus licheniformis and Bacillus subtitlis, respectively. Emulsification activity and measurement of surface tension indicated that, the isolates were high producers of biosurfactant. The product of C2 and E1 is mainly lipopeptide. This product reduce surface tension from 65 to 30 mN/m. Emulsified activity of crude oil was 92% for C2 and 90 % in case of E1. This is the first report of indigenous Bacillus licheniformis and Bacillus subtilis from a soil contaminated with oil in an Iranian refinery with ability to produce biosurfactant.     

Influence of biotic-abiotic factors on the degradation of novaluron in tropical soil

In this study, the degradation of novaluron (benzoylphenyl urea insect growth regulator) was investigated under controlled laboratory conditions in clay loam alluvial and coastal saline soils of West Bengal, India. The application rates were field rate (FR); 2FR and 10FR. The incubation study was carried out at 30 °C and 60% of maximum water holding capacity of both the soils. Degradation of novaluron in both the soils followed first order reaction kinetics at all application rates under non-sterile and sterile conditions. The half-lives of novaluron in non-sterilized soils ranged from 17.0–17.8 days (alluvial soil) and 11.4–12.7 days (coastal saline soil), while the values in case of the sterilized soils were 53.7–59.0 days (alluvial soil) and 28.9–29.8 days (coastal saline soil) respectively. The novaluron degradation patterns were found to be highly influenced by soil types, application rates, and biotic abiotic factors. Abiotic factors strongly influenced novaluron degradation in both the soils. Biotic degradation was higher in alluvial soil compared to the coastal saline soil.     

Modeling study of the effects of the coagulation kernel with van der Waals forces and turbulence on the particle size distribution

In this study, variations in the size distributions due to different assumptions for the coagulation kernel are investigated. In order to evaluate how the coagulation kernel influences the form of the particle size distribution and to describe the process of the Brownian coagulation, the Brownian coagulation kernel, including the van der Waals forces, is compared with the most frequently used coagulation coefficients. Retardation should be considered for interparticle interactions for particles larger than 1μm radius. However, for particle sizes larger than 0.1 μm, the Brownian kernel is not dominant, so the retardation effect can be ignored. The inclusion of the van der Waals forces in the Brownian coagulation kernel caused a faster coagulation process in the small particle size range. Taking account of the turbulent coagulation kernel, the turbulent coagulation kernel becomes more important when the turbulent intensity is higher. The turbulent coagulation kernel affects the large particle size range and ignoring the turbulent coagulation kernel will lead to overestimation of particle number concentration in model simulation. The results of this study indicate that the inclusion of van der Waals forces or the turbulent coagulation kernel in the total coagulation kernel impacts on the modeled particle size distributions and total particle number concentration.