Adsorption characteristics of phenol and heavy metals on biochar from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Hizikia fusiformis</Emphasis>

The objective of the present study is to evaluate the absorption efficacy of H. fusiformis biochar (HFB) for the removal of phenol and heavy metals from single and mixed solute systems of these species under different experimental conditions. The effects of contact time, pH change, initial phenol concentration, and heavy metal concentration on the adsorption capacity of HFB were investigated. The kinetics and equilibrium models of sorption of the components of the single and mixed solute systems on HFB were also studied. The experimental data were fitted to kinetic and equilibrium models. The batch experiments revealed that 360 min of contact time was sufficient to achieve equilibrium for the adsorption of both phenol and heavy metals. The adsorption of phenol and nickel by HFB followed the pseudo-second-order kinetic model, which was quite adequate for describing the adsorption mechanism. The equilibrium data for the adsorption of phenol and heavy metals fit well to the Langmuir model with regression coefficients of R ² > 0.819. The maximum Langmuir adsorption capacities were 10.39, 12.13, 22.25, 2.24, 2.89, and 22.03 mg/g for phenol, Ni²⁺, Zn²⁺, Cu²⁺, Pb²⁺, and Cd²⁺, respectively. Moreover, HFB exhibited optimal sorption under slightly acidic conditions at pH 6. The HFB used in the present study exhibited higher adsorption capacity for the removal of phenol and heavy metals from aqueous solutions compared to documented sorbents. These results demonstrate that HFB is potentially useful for alleviating the harmful effects of phenol and heavy metal in wastewater treatment systems.     

Phytoplankton viability in ballast water from international commercial ships berthed at ports in Korea

We investigated the viability of phytoplankton from ballast water of international commercial ships berthed at the ports of Ulsan and Onsan, Korea. The incubation conditions used were temperatures of 13 °C to represent ambient water and 20 °C to represent the thermal optimum, as well as nutrients in ballast water, shipside water, and F/2 medium. Phytoplankton in new (∼7 days) and old (20 and 23 days) ballast water survived when incubated under the nutrients typical of shipside water and F/2 medium at 13 °C and 20 °C. Colonization process was mostly dominated by Skeletonema costatum, Cylindrotheca closterium and pennate diatoms (<10 μm in diameter). S. costatum and C. closterium were persistent during incubation time, whereas pennate diatoms dominated in the three types of media from doubling to last phase of growth. This study showed that bloom-forming and pennate diatoms appear to be the species most likely to become successfully established in the two ports.     

Estimation of asymptotic variances of quantiles for the generalized logistic distribution

In this study, the parameter estimations for the 3-parameter generalized logistic (GL) distribution are presented based on the methods of moments (MOM), maximum likelihood (ML), and probability weighted moments (PWM). The asymptotic variances of the MOM, ML, and PWM quantile estimators for the GL distribution are expressed as functions of the sample size, return period, and parameters. A Monte Carlo simulation was performed to verify the derived expressions for variances and covariances between parameters and to evaluate the applicability of the derived asymptotic variances of quantiles for the MOM, ML and PWM methods. The simulation results generally show good agreement with the analytical results estimated from the asymptotic variances of parameters and quantiles when the shape parameter (β) of the GL distribution is between −0.10 and 0.10 for the MOM method and between −0.25 and 0.45 for the ML and PWM methods, respectively. In addition, the actual sample variances and the root mean square error (RMSE) of asymptotic variances of quantiles for various sample sizes, return periods, and shape parameters were presented. In order to evaluate the applicability of the estimation methods to real data and to compare the values of estimated parameter, quantiles, and confidence intervals based on each parameter estimation method, the GL distribution was fitted to the 24-h annual maximum rainfall data at Pohang, Korea.     

Evaluation of induction of metallothionein-like proteins (MTLPs) in the polychaetes for biomonitoring of heavy metal pollution in marine sediments

Polychaetes are suitable organisms for evaluation of impact of sediment pollution. We evaluated toxicity of cadmium and copper and measured metallothionein-like proteins (MTLPs) in the polychaete Perinereis nuntia. At the same concentration ranges copper was unexpectedly more toxic than cadmium. Copper also caused no significant increase in MTLPs in the polychaetes. When P. nuntia and another polychaete species, Cirratulus cirratus were cultured in the contaminated sediments collected from Lake Sihwa (Korea), a high mortality of 80% was observed on day 6 in P. nuntia in the sediment with the highest metal concentration. However, no mortality was observed up to 35 days in C. cirratus in any sediment. MTLP contents between two species also varied. These findings suggest that MTLP induction response in the polychaetes varies with the metal type and species and it may be used as a biomarker of sediment pollution in the polychaetes after further validation and field trials.     

Characteristics of isolated hybrid tremor (HBT) during a calm activity period at Aso Volcano

Isolated-type tremors having two events with different dominant frequencies are characteristic seismological phenomena observed during the fumarolic activity stage at Aso Volcano. These isolated tremors are called hybrid tremors (HBT) and comprise two parts: an initial part named the “HF-part” with a dominant frequency in the high-frequency region (approximately 10 Hz) and the following part named the “LF-part” with a dominant frequency in the low-frequency region (approximately 2 Hz). The LF-part is observed after the HF-part, and the HBT is accompanied by a long-period tremor (LPT). Hypocenters and source parameters are estimated using seismograms recorded at 64 stations around Nakadake crater. The amplitude distributions of all HF-parts have almost similar trends. Similarly, the amplitude distributions of all LF-parts have almost similar trends. However, the amplitude distributions of HF- and LF-parts are not similar. From these results, we proposed that the hypocenters and source parameters of HF- and LF-parts are not common, but each of them have common hypocenters and source parameters. The hypocenter region of HF-parts was estimated to be just beneath the fumarole region south of the 1st crater: the volume fluctuation is the major source factor. The hypocenter region of LF-parts is estimated to be at a depth of approximately 300 m beneath the first crater: the strike–slip component is the major source parameter. The hypocentral depth of LF-parts is located at the upper end of the crack estimated to be the source of the LPTs. The LPTs and HBTs are observed almost simultaneously. We consider that volcanic fluid is involved in the source mechanisms of both HBT and LPT.     

Paleoenvironmental changes of the Yellow Sea during the Late Quaternary

 Based on stable isotope data and carbon and sulfur elemental analyses, the sedimentary environment of the Yellow Sea was significantly influenced by the sea level changes during the Late Quaternary. At the low sea level stand when the sea level was lower by 56 m, the salinity of seawater was reduced to about 7.6‰, and the sedimentation rate in the central part of the Yellow Sea was three times higher than the present rate. The high C/S ratio during the low sea level stand is strong evidence that sedimentation took place in a lower salinity environment than exists at present. Received: 25 September 1997 / Revision reveived: 15 June 1998     

Microbial Diversity of Deep-sea Sediments from Three Newly Discovered Hydrothermal Vent Fields in the Central Indian Ridge

Since the discovery of hydrothermal vents in the late 1970s, deep-sea hydrothermal vent fields have attracted great attention as biological hotspots. However, compared with other ocean ridges, the structure and function of microbial communities inhabiting vent fields in the Central Indian ridge (CIR) remain understudied. Here, we provide for the first time 16S rRNA gene-based comparative metagenomic analysis of the sediment-associated microbial communities from three newly discovered vent fields in the CIR. Sediment samples collected in the Invent B, Invent E and Onnuri vent fields varied in geochemical properties, elemental concentrations and associated microbial communities. Proteobacteria (Gammaproteobacteria) was the dominant phylum in Invent B and Onnuri vent fields. In contrast, Invent E mainly consisted of Chloroflexi and Euryarchaeota. Predicted functional profiling revealed that the microbial communities in the three vents are dominated by chemoheterotrophic functions. In addition, microbial communities capable of respiration of sulfur compounds, nitrification, nitrite oxidation, methylotrophy, and methanotropy were found to be the main chemolithoautotrophs. Compared to other vent fields, Invent E showed a predominance of archaeal methanogens suggesting it exhibits slightly different geochemistry. Multivariate analysis indicated that the biogeochemical and trace metal differences are reflected in the sediment microbial compositions of the three vent fields. This study expands our current understanding of the microbial community structure and potential ecological functions of the newly discovered hydrothermal vent fields in the CIR.