Various studies have revealed high concentrations of contaminants such as organochlorines (OCs) and heavy metals in Mediterranean cetaceans. A geographical trend of contamination (PCBs and DDTs) has been found for striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba). In this study we used a non-lethal approach (skin biopsy) to investigate bioaccumulation of OCs, including polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs), DDTs, polychlorodibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorodibenzofurans (PCDFs), trace elements (Hg, Cd, Pb) and CYP1A activity (BPMO) in nine striped dolphins sampled in the Aeolian area (Sicily - Italy) in summer 2002. The arithmetic mean value of BPMO activity in this group was 43.46 AUF/g tissue/h. This value is approximately 3 times and 5 times lower, respectively, than the value found in the Ionian and in the Ligurian groups. Skin biopsies of striped dolphins emerged as a suitable material for assessing the toxicological status of the various Mediterranean groups. 相似文献
Current country-level commitments under the Paris Agreement fall short of putting the world on a required trajectory to stay below a 2°C temperature increase compared to pre-industrial levels by the end of the century. Therefore, the timing of increased ambition is hugely important and as such this paper analyses the impact of both the short and long-term goals of the Paris Agreement on global emissions and economic growth. Using the hybrid TIAM-UCL-MSA model we consider the achievement of a 2°C target against a baseline of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) while also considering the timing of increased ambition of the NDCs by 2030 and the impacts of cost reductions of key low-carbon technologies. We find that the rate of emissions reduction ambition required between 2030 and 2050 is almost double when the NDCs are achieved but not ratcheted up until 2030, and leads to lower levels of economic growth throughout the rest of the century. However, if action is taken immediately and is accompanied by increasingly rapid low-carbon technology cost reductions, then there is almost no difference in GDP compared to the path suggested by the current NDC commitments.
Key policy insights
Delaying the additional action needed to achieve the 2°C target until 2030 is shown to require twice the rate of emissions reductions between 2030 and 2050.
Total cumulative GDP over the century is lower when additional action is delayed to 2030 and therefore has an overall negative impact on the economy, even without including climate change damages.
Increased ratcheting of the NDC commitments should therefore be undertaken sooner rather than later, starting in conjunction with the 2023 Global Stocktake.
Early action combined with cost reductions in key renewable energy technologies can reduce GDP losses to minimal levels (<1%).
A 2°C future with technological advancements is clearly possible for a similar cost as a 3.3°C world without these advances, but with lower damages and losses from climate change.
The mechanisms of abiotic sequestration of Se(VI) and Se(IV) on a sample of coal waste rock collected from the Elk Valley, Canada and on three pure mineral species (i.e., siderite, pyrite, and sphalerite) present in coal waste rock were assessed using sterile batch testing under water-saturated, anoxic conditions. Only siderite removed measurable Se(VI) from the test solutions with ~90% removal after 100 d attributed to initial adsorption to the siderite surface as Se(VI) and subsequent reduction to Se(IV) and Se(0). In contrast to Se(VI), all samples removed Se(IV) from the aqueous solutions. The rate of Se(IV) removal was pyrite > siderite > waste rock > sphalerite. The waste rock sample removed Se(IV) from solution in two stages: up to ~40% of the aqueous Se(IV) was rapidly removed (by day 1) followed by slower removal of Se(IV) with up to ~97% removal after 99 d. Se(IV) removal is attributed to the adsorption of Se(IV) and subsequent reduction to Se(0) onto the siderite and pyrite phases of the waste rock. The initial (1 d) removal of Se(IV) by waste rock was characterized using a distribution coefficient (Kd) of 15.5 L/kg. Longer-term Se(IV) removal was fitted with zero and first order removal rates. The removal of Se(IV) by sphalerite was minor and deemed to have a minimal effect on Se sequestration in the waste rock. Desorption tests on waste rock showed that the fraction of sequestered Se susceptible to desorption decreased with time as adsorbed Se(IV) was reduced to insoluble Se(0). These findings show that abiotic Se sequestration can occur in saturated, anoxic zones in coal waste rock dumps. 相似文献