Asia-Pacific mussel watch: monitoring contamination of persistent organochlorine compounds in coastal waters of Asian countries

Contamination of persistent organochlorines (OCs) such as PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), DDT and its metabolites (DDTs), HCH (hexachlorocyclohexane) isomers (HCHs), chlordane compounds (CHLs), and HCB (hexachlorobenzene) were examined in mussels collected from coastal waters of Asian countries such as Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Far East Russia, Singapore, and Vietnam in 1994, 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2001 to elucidate the contamination status, distribution and possible pollution sources and to assess the risks on aquatic organisms and human. OCs were detected in all mussels collected from all the sampling sites investigated. Considerable residue levels of p,p(')-DDT and alpha-HCH were found in mussels and the concentrations of DDTs and HCHs found in mussels from Asian developing countries were higher than those in developed nations suggesting present usage of DDTs and HCHs along the coastal waters of Asian developing countries. On the other hand, lower concentrations of PCBs detected in mussels from Asian developing countries than those in developed countries indicate that PCBs contamination in mussels is strongly related to industrial and activities. To our knowledge, this is a first comprehensive report on monitoring OCs pollution in the Asia-Pacific region.     

Effects of long-term dumping of harbor-dredged material on macrozoobenthos at four disposal sites along the Emilia-Romagna coast (Northern Adriatic Sea, Italy)

Sediment from harbors of the Emilia-Romagna (Northern Adriatic Sea) were dredged and dumped in four disposal areas characterized by muddy bottoms. The long-term effects of the dumping on macrozoobenthic communities were investigated before and after 6 month, 8 month, 2 years and 4 years. The disposal of dredged material did not influence the granulometry and %TOC in the sediment, and no alterations in the structure of the macrobenthic communities were observed in the four areas. The lack of impact could be ascribed to the environmental characteristics and precautionary measures taken to minimize the effects of the dumping. It appears that: (1) the communities of the dumping areas are well adapted to unstable environments; (2) the sediments were disposed gradually and homogeneously over relatively large areas; Other factors that help to reduce the impact of sediment disposal are the low concentrations of contaminants in dredged materials and the similarity of sediment in the dredged and disposal areas. Off-shore discharge appears a sustainable strategy for the management of uncontaminated dredged sediments from the Northern Adriatic Sea harbors.     

澳大利亚纳沃日金矿流体混合与金的成矿作用

流体包裹体研究表明，纳沃日金矿成矿脉体中流体包裹体类型有三种，富CH4、CH4－CO2－H2O和富H2O包裹体。初始成矿流体是富CH4热液，在主矿化阶段，另一来源的CO2－H2O流体与CH4流体发生了不均匀混合，并且在石英－磁黄铁矿阶段最为强烈，造成不同矿化部位的xCH4变化极大，早期近于纯CH4流体被充分“稀释”后，石英－黄铁矿阶段的xCH4显著减小，到成矿晚期只剩CO2－H2O流体。正是由于不同性质流体的混合，造成热液的pH及fo2的升高，流体中的金－硫络合物分解，金沉淀成矿。     

A Giant Gold System, Geita Greenstone Belt, Tanzania

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