Bacterial sulphate reduction in sediments of a european salt marsh: Acid-volatile and tin-reducible products

The products of ³⁵S-sulphate reduction by sedimentary bacteria were measured at two sites in a salt marsh on the east coast of England. Non-acid-volatile products were measured, after acid-volatile sulphide was removed, by their reduction to sulphide by digestion with tin. The proportion of the sulphate reduced to tin-reducible products varied between 25% in a salt marsh pan and 61% in creek sediment, over a 0–25 cm depth profile. There were also variations with depth at each site in the proportions of sulphate reduced to tin-reducible products. Further examination revealed differences in the proportions of sulphate which were reduced to free sulphide, acid-volatile sulphide, sulphur or pyrite at the two sites. The data suggest that previous work which did not measure non-acid-volatile products underestimated sulphate reduction rates by three-fold in the creek site, but by only one third in the pan.     

Trace metal concentrations in sediments of the Eastern Mississippi Bight

Sediments collected from 3 onshore-offshore transects (12 stations total) in the Eastern Mississippi Bight at 5 different times during 1987–1988 have been analyzed for total Ag, As, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se, Sn, Th and Zn. The data show considerable variation both spatially and temporally, largely as a result of natural variability in grain size and mineralogy. Clay-rich samples from deep water were always more metal-rich than sandy samples from shallow areas. Many samples from near the Mississippi River Delta appeared to be enriched in Ba by about a factor of two, probably as a result of contamination from oil well drilling mud, but there were few other indications of pollution influences. Many samples from throughout the area gave Mn/Fe and Cd/Fe ratios a factor of two or more lower than their Mississippi River source material. This shows that biochemical activity in the sediment is capable of solubilizing reducible and adsorbed metals.     

A case study of a modified gravity type cage and mooring system using numerical and physical models

A modified gravity-type cage, developed by SADCO Shelf Ltd., was examined using numerical and physical models to determine if the cage and mooring system is suitable for an exposed site south of the Isles of Shoals, NH. The 3000-m/sup 3/ SADCO Shelf Submersible Fish Cage has angled stays between the upper framework and the ballasted bottom rim (in addition to net) to resist the horizontal shear deformation. The mooring system consists of three legs-each made up of a taut vertical chain and an angled rope, both leading to deadweight anchors. Normalized response amplitudes (response amplitude operators) were found for motion response in heave, surge and pitch, and load response in the anchor and bridle lines, in regular (single frequency) waves. In addition, a stochastic approach was taken to determine the motion and load transfer functions in random waves using a spectrum representative of seas at the selected site. In general, the system motion had a highly damped response, with no resonant peaks within the wave excitation range of 0.05 to 0.45 Hz. The anchor line force response was at all frequencies below 5 kN per meter of wave amplitude. The physical model tests showed consistently more conservative (larger) results compared to those for the numerical model.     

The expression of CYP1A,vitellogenin and zona radiata proteins in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) after oral dosing with two commercial PBDE flame retardant mixtures: absence of short-term responses

The short-term effects of the commercial PBDE flame retardant mixtures Penta-BDE and cta-BDE on the expression of cytochrome P450 1A (CYP1A), vitellogenin (Vtg) and zona radiata proteins (Zrp) were investigated in juvenile salmon (Salmo salar). For this purpose, groups of fish were dosed twice (oral intake at days I and 4) with 10 and 50 mg/kg body weight of both commercial mixtures. The fishes were sacrificed at day 7 (n = 5 for each group) and 14 (n = 6 for each group), and blood, liver, fillet, and brain were collected. Blanks and positive controls were also part of the experiment. The expressions of Vtg, Zrp, and CYPIA were measured with several techniques (EROD, ELISA, Western, Northern and Slot Blot). The values in the groups of fish treated with Penta-BDE or Octa-BDE did not significantly differ from the reference group for any of the parameters tested. In contrast, the positive control groups treated with estradiol-17beta for Vtg and Zrp expression, and beta-naphthoflavone for CYP1A expression did show a significant response, indicating the potential sensitivity of the fishes for the parameters measured. Since the results of the chemical analyses showed concentrations of a number of PBDE congeners in liver, fillet, and brain that were about three orders of magnitude above those of fish from the North Sea, it is concluded that the short-term toxicity of both commercial PBDE mixtures for these endpoints was low.     

Upstream dams and downstream clams: growth rates of bivalve mollusks unveil impact of river management on estuarine ecosystems (Colorado River Delta, Mexico)

We studied how the extensive diversion of Colorado River water, induced by dams and agricultural activities of the last 70 years, affected the growth rates of two abundant bivalve mollusk species (Chione cortezi and Chione fluctifraga) in the northern Gulf of California. Shells alive on the delta today (‘Post-dam’ shells) grow 5.8–27.9% faster than shells alive prior to the construction of dams (‘Pre-dam’ shells). This increase in annual shell production is linked to the currently sharply reduced freshwater influx to the Colorado River estuary. Before the upstream river management, lower salinity retarded growth rates in these bivalves. Intra-annual growth rates were 50% lower during spring and early summer, when river flow was at its maximum. Growth rates in Chione today are largely controlled by temperature and nutrients; prior to the construction of dams and the diversion of the Colorado River flow, seasonal changes in salinity played an important role in regulating calcification rates.Our study employs sclerochronological (growth increment analysis) and geochemical techniques to assess the impact of reduced freshwater influx on bivalve growth rates in the Colorado River estuary. A combination of both techniques provides an excellent tool to evaluate the impact of river management in areas where no pre-impact studies were made.     

地学研究对海岸带综合治理的部分贡献

地学是地质学、地球物理学和自然地理学的专称。运用地学手段对海岸带进行综合治理（ICZM）是当前海岸带持续开发战略面临的一项重要任务。“可持续”发展意思就是在保护环境的前提下对海岸地区及其资源进行管理，并要把它当成一个长期的具体任务来完成。要想进行ICZM必须要有广博的知识，需要了解海洋和海岸岩石的成因和特征、沉积物和地形的特征，还要了解天气和气候、海洋水体以及海洋中包含的生物等。海岸体系这些组成部分的基本地学知识是ICZM得以实施的基础，因为地学可以帮助明确再生和非再生资源以及它们对经济发展的潜在作用，从人类健康、安全和生物环境保护这两个方面弄清和确定经济发展已经和将要对环境产生的影响，特别从人类健康和工程风险这些方面弄清和确定发展过程中会有哪些限制因素和灾害；通过环境基本条件和监控变化来区分自然环境变化和人类活动导致的变化等。     

两株琼胶酶高产细菌的筛选和鉴定

从海洋环境中筛选得到两株琼胶酶的高产菌株，通过形态观察和生理生化反应，确定它们属于弧菌属，通过BIOLOG细菌鉴定系统鉴定，并同弧菌属标准菌株分析比较，确定上方宝剑两株菌都是塔式弧菌（Vibrio tubiashii)，这两株菌在碳源利用方面存在差别。     

A field-based population model for the sediment toxicity test organism Leptocheirus plumulosus: I. Model development

We describe the development of a stage-structured population matrix model for the estuarine amphipod Leptocheirus plumulosus, a sediment toxicity test organism, based on regular sampling of a natural population for approximately 2 years. Annual population dynamics were characterized by abundance peaks in the spring and fall, and low densities in the summer and winter. We use a sequence of seasonal projection matrices to capture these qualitative patterns in population dynamics. We compare two methods for estimating transition probabilities: multiple regression and truncated singular value decomposition (SVD). Overall, SVD gave more realistic parameter estimates than regression, although fecundity estimation was problematic. There were predictable trends in growth, survival and fecundity within years. The SVD-derived model provides a framework for assessing the population-level effects of contaminants on Leptocheirus.     

Short-term and interannual variability of redox-sensitive chemical parameters in hypoxic/anoxic bottom waters of the Chesapeake Bay

A combination of CTD casts, discrete bottle sampling and in situ voltammetric microelectrode profiling was used to examine changing redox conditions in the water column at a single station south of the Bay Bridge in the upper Chesapeake Bay in late July/early August, 2002–2005. Short-term (2–4 h) fluctuations in the oxic/suboxic/anoxic interface were documented using in situ voltammetric solid-state electrodes. Profiles of dissolved oxygen and sulfide revealed tidally-driven vertical fluctuations of several meters in the depth and thickness of the suboxic zone. Bottom water concentrations of sulfide, Mn²⁺ and Fe²⁺ also varied over the tidal cycle by approximately an order of magnitude. These data indicate that redox species concentrations at this site varied more due to physical processes than biogeochemical processes. Based on analysis of ADCP data, tidal currents at this station were strongly polarized, with the principal axis of tidal currents aligned with the mainstem channel. Together with the chemical data, the ADCP analysis suggests tidal flushing of anoxic bottom waters with suboxic water from north of the site. The present study is thus unique because while most previous studies have focused on processes across relatively stable redox interfaces, our data clearly demonstrate the influence of rapidly changing physical mixing processes on water column redox chemistry.Also noted during the study were interannual differences in maximum bottom water concentrations of sulfide, Mn²⁺ and Fe²⁺. In 2003, for example, heavy spring rains resulted in severe hypoxia/anoxia in June and early July. While reported storm-induced mixing in late July/early August 2003 partially alleviated the low-oxygen conditions, bottom water concentrations of sulfide, Mn²⁺ and Fe²⁺ were still much higher than in the previous year. The latter implies that the response time of the microbial community inhabiting the suboxic/anoxic bottom waters to changing redox conditions is slow compared to the time scale of episodic mixing events. Bottom water concentrations of the redox-sensitive chemical species should thus be useful as a tracer to infer prior hypoxic/anoxic conditions not apparent from ambient oxygen levels at the time of sampling.