Isolation of PAH-degrading bacteria from mangrove sediments and their biodegradation potential

Surface sediment samples were collected from seven mangrove swamps in Hong Kong SAR with different degrees of contamination. The total concentrations of 16 PAHs in these sediments ranged from 169.41 to 1058.37 ng g⁻¹ with the highest concentration found in Ma Wan and the lowest in Kei Ling Ha Lo Wai mangrove swamp. In each swamp, three bacterial consortia were enriched from sediments using phenanthrene (Phe) as the sole carbon and energy source, and individual bacterial colony showing Phe degradation was isolated and identified by 16S rDNA gene sequence. The consortia enriched from Sai Keng and Ho Chung sediments had highest ability to degrade mixed PAHs in liquid medium, with 90% Phe and Fla (fluoranthene) degraded in 7 days. On the other hand, Kei Ling Ha Lo Wai-enriched consortia degraded less than 40% Phe and Fla. Pyrene (Pyr) was hardly degraded by the consortia enriched from sediments. Bacterial isolates, namely Rhodococcus (HCCS), Sphingomonas (MWFG) and Paracoccus (SPNT) were capable to degrade mixed PAHs (Phe + Fla + Pyr). Their degradation percentages could be lower, comparable or even higher than their respective enriched consortia, depending on the consortium and the type of PAH compounds. These results suggest that PAH-degrading bacteria enriched from mangrove sediments, either as a mixed culture or as a single isolate could be used for PAHs bioremediation.     

Toxicity of antifouling biocides to the intertidal harpacticoid copepod Tigriopus japonicus (Crustacea, Copepoda): effects of temperature and salinity

Intertidal harpacticoid copepods are commonly used in eco-toxicity tests worldwide. They predominately live in mid-high shore rock pools and often experience a wide range of temperature and salinity fluctuation. Most eco-toxicity tests are conducted at fixed temperature and salinity and thus the influence of these environmental factors on chemical toxicity is largely unknown. This study investigated the combined effect of temperature and salinity on the acute toxicity of the copepod Tigriopus japonicus against two common biocides, copper (Cu) and tributyltin (TBT) using a 2 × 3 × 4 factorial design (i.e. two temperatures: 25 and 35 °C; three salinities: 15.0‰, 34.5‰ and 45.0‰; three levels of the biocide plus a control). Copper sulphate and tributyltin chloride were used as the test chemicals while distilled water and acetone were utilised as solvents for Cu and TBT respectively. 96h-LC50s of Cu and TBT were 1024 and 0.149 μg l⁻¹ respectively (at 25 °C; 34.5‰) and, based on these results, nominal biocide concentrations of LC0 (i.e. control), LC30, LC50 and LC70 were employed. Analysis of Covariance using ‘concentration’ as the covariate and both ‘temperature’ and ‘salinity’ as fixed factors, showed a significant interaction between temperature and salinity effects for Cu, mortality increasing with temperature but decreasing with elevated salinity. A similar result was revealed for TBT. Both temperature and salinity are, therefore, important factors affecting the results of acute eco-toxicity tests using these marine copepods. We recommend that such eco-toxicity tests should be conducted at a range of environmentally realistic temperature/salinity regimes, as this will enhance the sensitivity of the test and improve the safety margin in line with the precautionary principle.     

Metallothioneins and trace metals in the dogwhelk Nucella lapillus (L.) collected from Icelandic coasts

Different sizes of the dogwhelk Nucella lapillus were collected from eight locations along the southwest and north coasts of Iceland. Concentrations of total metallothioneins (MTs) and heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Cr, Mn, Ni, and Zn) were analysed using the silver saturation method and inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry. The level of tributyltin (TBT) contamination was also assessed using imposex indices, the vas deferens stage index (VDSI) and relative penis size index (RPSI). Gufunes N. lapillus presented the highest values of VDSI (4.0) and RPSI (11.1), followed by Grenivík individuals (VDSI = 3.0; RPSI = 0.9), while the Strandakirkja population showed the lowest VDSI (0.3) and zero RPSI. At a standardised size (0.25 g dry soft-body weight), Grenivík N. lapillus exhibited significantly higher concentrations of all metals whereas overall metal concentrations were significantly lower in individuals from Strandakirkja and Garðskagi compared to other study sites. Partial correlation analyses with size correction indicated that MT concentrations were better correlated with Cd and Cu concentrations than with other metals. At the standard size, the pattern of MT concentrations in N. lapillus from different sites was, however, very different from those of metal profiles. Such discrepancies between the patterns of MT and metals in N. lapillus might be explained by the fact that MT induction could be influenced by various factors such as temperature, dietary metal intake, growth rate and co-existence of other MT-inducing chemicals.     

Magnetosheath Interaction with the High Latitude Magnetopause

We present both statistical and case studies of magnetosheath interaction with the high-latitude magnetopause on the basis of Interball-1 and other ISTP spacecraft data. We discuss those data along with recently published results on the topology of cusp-magnetosheath transition and the roles of nonlinear disturbances in mass and energy transfer across the high-latitude magnetopause. For sunward dipole tilts, a cusp throat is magnetically open for direct interaction with the incident flow that results in the creation of a turbulent boundary layer (TBL) over an indented magnetopause and downstream of the cusp. For antisunward tilts, the cusp throat is closed by a smooth magnetopause; demagnetized ‘plasma balls’ (with scale ∼ few R_E, an occurrence rate of ∼25% and trapped energetic particles) present a major magnetosheath plasma channel just inside the cusp. The flow interacts with the ‘plasma balls’ via reflected waves, which trigger a chaotization of up to 40% of the upstream kinetic energy. These waves propagate upstream of the TBL and initiate amplification of the existing magnetosheath waves and their cascade-like decays during downstream passage throughout the TBL. The most striking feature of the nonlinear interaction is the appearance of magnetosonic jets, accelerated up to an Alfvenic Mach number of 3. The characteristic impulsive local momentum loss is followed by decelerated Alfvenic flows and modulated by the TBL waves; momentum balance is conserved only on time scales of the Alfvenic flows (1/f_A ∼12 min). Wave trains at f_A∼1.3 mHz are capable of synchronizing interactions throughout the outer and inner boundary layers. The sonic/Alfvenic flows, bounded by current sheets, control the TBL spectral shape and result in non-Gaussian statistical characteristics of the disturbances, indicating the fluctuation intermittency. We suggest that the multi-scale TBL processes play at least a comparable role to that of macro-reconnection (remote from or in the cusp) in solar wind energy transformation and population of the magnetosphere by the magnetosheath plasma. Secondary micro-reconnection constitutes a necessary chain at the small-scale (∼ion gyroradius) edge of the TBL cascades. The thick TBL transforms the flow energy, including deceleration and heating of the flow in the open throat, ‘plasma ball’ and the region downstream of the cusp.     

Energetic Particles Observed in the CUSP Region During a Storm Recovery Phase

In this paper we report energetic ion behavior and its composition variations observed by the Cluster/RAPID instrument when the spacecraft was travelling in the high latitude magnetospheric boundary region on the day of the 31 March, 2001, strongest magnetic storm in the past 50 years. The Dst index reached −360 nT at about 09:00 UT. During its early recovery phase, large amounts of oxygen and helium ions were observed; the ratio of oxygen to hydrogen in the RAPID energy range reached as high as 250%, which suggests that the observed energetic particles might be of magnetospheric origin. The observations further show that enhanced energetic electron fluxes are confined in a very narrow region, while protons have occupied a larger region, and heavy ions have been observed in an even larger region. The flux of energetic electrons show a slight enhancement in a region where the magnetic field magnitude is around zero. These observed energetic ions could be quasi-trapped by the current sheet in the stagnation region of the cusp.     

Numerical reconstruction of trajectory of small-size surface drifter in the Mediterranean sea

In this study, we addressed the effects of wind-induced drift on Lagrangian trajectories of surface sea objects using high-resolution ocean forecast and atmospheric data. Application of stochastic Leeway model for prediction of trajectories drift was considered for the numerical reconstruction of the Elba accident that occurred during the period 21.06.2009–22.06.2009: a person on an inflatable raft was lost in the vicinity of the Elba Island coast; from the initial position, the person on a raft drifted southwards in the open sea and later he was found on a partially deflated raft during rescue operation. For geophysical forcing, we used high-resolution currents from the Mediterranean Forecasting System and atmospheric wind from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. To investigate the effect of wind on trajectory behavior, numerical simulations were performed using different categories of drifter-like particles similar to a person on an inflatable raft. An algorithm of spatial clustering was used to differentiate the most probable search areas with a high density of particles. Our results showed that the simulation scenarios using particles with characteristics of draft-limited sea drifters provided better prediction of an observed trajectory in terms of the probability density of particles.     

Stage level,volume and time‐frequency information content of Lake Tana using stochastic and wavelet analysis methods

Lake Tana is the largest fresh water body situated in the north‐western highlands of Ethiopia. In addition to its ecological services, it serves for local transport, electric power generation, fishing, recreational purposes, and source of dry season irrigation water supply. Evidence shows that the lake has dried at least once at about 15,000–17,000 before present owing to a combination of high evaporation and low precipitation events. Past attempts to understand and simulate historical fluctuation of Lake Tana based on simplistic water balance approach of inflow, outflow, and storage have failed to capture well‐known events of drawdown and rise of the lake that have happened in the last 44 years. This study tested different stochastic methods of lake level and volume simulation for supporting Lake Tana operational planning decision support. Three stochastic methods (perturbations approach, Monte Carlo methods, and wavelet analysis) were employed for lake level and volume simulation, and the results were compared with the stage level measurements. Forty‐four years of daily, monthly, and mean annual lake level data have shown a Gaussian variation with goodness of fit at 0.01 significant levels of the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test. The stochastic simulations predicted the lake stage level of the 1972, 1984, and 2002/2003 historical droughts 99% of the time. The information content (frequency) of fluctuation of Lake Tana for various periods was resolved using Wigner's Time‐Frequency Decomposition method. The wavelet analysis agreed with the perturbations and Monte Carlo simulations resolving the time (1970s, 1980s, and 2000s) in which low frequency and high spectral power fluctuation has occurred. The Monte Carlo method has shown its superiority for risk analysis over perturbation and deterministic method whereas wavelet analysis reconstructed historical record of lake stage level at daily and monthly time scales. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Electric and magnetic components of ballooning perturbations in the magnetotail plasma sheet before breakup

Using data from THEMIS spacecraft we investigated transverse to the magnetic field mutually perpendicular electric and magnetic components of ballooning type perturbations with periods 60–240 s, which are observed in the magnetospheric plasma sheet during the period preceding substorm onset. With applying Hilbert transform, we analyzed the phase relations between them. It is shown that the perturbations are dominated by radial electric and azimuthal magnetic (that is, toroidal) components which are usually in phase or out-of-phase. Along with them, approximately 2.5 times less intense azimuthal electric and radial magnetic components are present, which are more often phase-shifted by π/2. It is concluded that the observed perturbations are not a simple consequence of the development of plasma sheet ballooning instability, leading to the growth of strongly elongated along the magnetotail ballooning structures. It is pointed out that this conclusion is confirmed by simultaneous ground-based observations of magnetically conjugate auroral structures.     

The June 2013 Alberta catastrophic flooding event – part 2: fine‐scale precipitation and associated features

Data obtained from a variety of sources including the Canadian Lightning Detection Network, weather radars, weather stations and operational numerical weather model analyses were used to address the evolution of precipitation during the June 2013 southern Alberta flood. The event was linked to a mid‐level closed low pressure system to the west of the region and a surface low pressure region initially to its south. This configuration brought warm, moist unstable air into the region that led to dramatic, organized convection with an abundance of lightning and some hail. Such conditions occurred in the southern parts of the region whereas the northern parts were devoid of lightning. Initially, precipitation rates were high (extreme 15‐min rainfall rates up to 102 mm h^?1 were measured) but decreased to lower values as the precipitation shifted to long‐lived stratiform conditions. Both the convective and stratiform precipitation components were affected by the topography. Similar flooding events, such as June 2002, have occurred over this region although the 2002 event was colder and precipitation was not associated with substantial convection over southwest Alberta. Copyright © 2016 Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada. Hydrological Processes. © John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.