Antialgal and antilarval activities of bioactive compounds extracted from the marine dinoflagellate <Emphasis Type="Italic">Amphidinium carterae</Emphasis>

With the global ban on the application of organotin-based marine coatings by the International Maritime Organization, the development of environmentally friendly, low-toxic and nontoxic antifouling compounds for marine industries has become an urgent need. Marine microorganisms have been considered as a potential source of natural antifoulants. In this study, the antifouling potential of marine dinoflagellate Amphidinium carterae, the toxic and red-tide microalgae, was investigated. We performed a series of operations to extract the bioactive substances from Amphidinium carterae and tested their antialgal and antilarval activities. The crude extract of Amphidinium carterae showed significant antialgal activity and the EC₅₀ value against Skeletonema costatum was 55.4 μg mL^?1. After purification, the isolated bioactive substances (the organic extract C) exhibited much higher antialgal and antilarval activities with EC₅₀ of 12.9 μg mL^?1 against Skeletonema costatum and LC₅₀ of 15.1 μg mL^?1 against Amphibalanus amphitrite larvae. Subsequently, IR, Q-TOFMS, and GC-MS were utilized for the structural elucidation of the bioactive compounds, and a series of unsaturated and saturated 16- to 22-carbon fatty acids were detected. The data suggested the bioactive compounds isolated from Amphidinium carterae exhibited a significant inhibiting effect against the diatom Skeletonema costatum and Amphibalanus amphitrite larvae, and could be substitutes for persistent, toxic antifouling compounds.     

The modeled atmospheric and oceanic response to the South China Sea SST anomaly

The sensitivity of the global atmospheric and oceanic response to sea surface temperature anomaly (SSTA) throughout the South China Sea (SCS) is investigated using the Fast Ocean-Atmosphere Model (FOAM). Forced by a warming SST, the experiment explicitly demonstrates that the responses of surface air temperature (SAT) and SST exhibit positive anomalous center over SCS and negative anomalous center over the Northern Pacific Ocean (NPO). The atmospheric response to the warm SST anomalies is characterized by a barotropical anomaly in middle-latitude, leading to a weak subtropical high in summer and a weak Aleutian low in winter. Accordingly, Indian monsoon and eastern Asian monsoon strengthen in summer but weaken in winter as a result of wind convergence owing to the warm SST. It is worth noting that the abnormal signals propagate poleward and eastward away in the form of Rossby Waves from the forcing region, which induces high pressure anomaly. Owing to action of the wind-driven circulation, an anomalous anti-cyclonic circulation is induced with a primary southward current in the upper ocean. An obvious cooling appears over the North Pacific, which can be explained by anomalous meridional cold advection and mixing as shown in the analysises of heat budget and other factors that affect SST.     

Growth performance of larval and juvenile manila clam (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Ruditapes philippinarum</Emphasis>) from divergently selected individuals of a full-sib family

In this study, the method of divergent selection was employed to test the larval and juvenile growth performance within a full-sib family of Manila clam Ruditapes philippinarum. The 10% largest and 10% smallest clam individuals (on the basis of shell length) of a full-sib family were selected as parents for the fast and slow growing lines, respectively. The difference in shell length was significant among the three lines (fast, control, and slow) tested. The sequence of shell length were fast line > control line > slow line. The responses to selection, realized heritability, and genetic gain were 0.06%–0.81%, 0.04%–0.47% and 0.58%–18.89% in the fast direction, respectively; and were 0.14%–1.27%, 0.08%–0.73%, and 0.31%–49.03% in the slow direction, respectively. The results suggested that there was a large portion of additive genetic variance affecting the growth in the full-sib family. Selection in the fast direction within the full-sib family would greatly improve the growth of R. philippinarum.     

The Impact of Large-Scale Reclamation on Hydro-Dynamic Environment——A Case Study of Xinghua Bay

A hydro-dynamic model is established on basis of MIKE21 FM to simulate the hydro-dynamic characteristics of Xinghua Bay and investigate the influence of reclamation project on the tidal elevation and tidal currents. Tidal elevation data was obtained at the six tide gauge stations around the Xinghua Bay, and another six current stations were established to observe the tidal current velocity and direction. Validation shows that the model-simulated tidal elevation and tidal currents agree well with observations made at different stations. Predictions are made according to the reclamation project proposed in the regional marine planning of Hanjiang Industrial Park around the port in Putian City. The variations of hydro-dynamic factors, such as tide, current velocity and direction and tidal influx are obtained, and the adverse effect of reclamation on marine environment is discussed. It is shown that the tidal level inside the Xinghua Bay during high tide decreases after the reclamation project is completed. The tidal currents during flooding tide generally decrease in the southeast of the reclamation region, with the maximum decreasing amplitude reaching 0.44 m s^-1. On the other hand, the tidal currents during flooding tide increase around the southeast and southwest corners of the reclamation region. The tidal currents during ebb tide increase around the southeast and southwest corners of the reclamation region, with the maximum increasing amplitude attaining 0.18 m s^-1. The results in this paper can give some guidance for the marine environment management and the effective utilization of land in Putian.     

Tide and current observations in the central Chukchi Sea during the summer of 2012

Current data from a moored Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler(ADCP) deployed at 69?30.155′N,169?00.654′W in the central Chukchi Sea during 2012 summertime is analyzed in the present paper.Characteristics of tidal and residual currents are ob-tained with Cosine-Lanczos filter and cross-spectral analyses.The main achievements are as follows:1) Along with the local inertial frequency of 12.8 h,two other peaks at ~12-h and ~10-d dominate the time series of raw velocity;2) The M_2 dominates the 6 resolved tide constituents with significant amplitude variations over depth and the ratios of current speed of this constituent to that of the total tidal current are 54% and 47% for u and v components,respectively.All the resolved tidal constituents rotate clockwise at depth with the exception of MM and O1.The constituents of M_2 and S_2 with the largest major semi-axes are similar in eccentricity and orientation at deeper levels;3) The maximum of residual currents varies in a range of 20–30 cms~(-1) over depth and the current with lower velocities flow more true north with smaller magnitudes compared to the current in surface layer.The ~10 d fluctuation of residual current is found throughout the water column and attributed to the response of current to the local wind forcing,with an approximate 1.4 d lag-time at the surface level and occurring several hours later in the lower layer;4) Mean residual currents flow toward the north with the magnitudes smaller than 7 cms~(-1) in a general agreement with previous studies,which suggests a relatively weaker but stable northward flow indeed exists in the central Chukchi Sea.     

Phase characteristic analysis of continuous depth air-gun source wavelet

Air guns are important sources for marine seismic exploration. Far-field wavelet of air gun arrays, as a necessary parameter for pre-stack processing and source models, plays an important role during marine seismic data processing and interpretation. When an air gun fires, it generates a series of air bubbles. Similar to onshore seismic exploration, the water forms a plastic fluid near the bubble; the farther the air gun is located from the measurement, the more steady and more accurately represented the wavelet will be. In practice, hydrophones should be placed more than 100 m from the air gun; however, traditional seismic cables cannot meet this requirement. On the other hand, vertical cables provide a viable solution to this problem. This study uses a vertical cable to receive wavelets from 38 air guns and data are collected offshore Southeast Qiong, where the water depth is over 1000 m. In this study, the wavelets measured using this technique coincide very well with the simulated wavelets and can therefore represent the real shape of the wavelets. This experiment fills a technology gap in China.     

Zircon M127 – A Homogeneous Reference Material for SIMS U–Pb Geochronology Combined with Hafnium,Oxygen and,Potentially, Lithium Isotope Analysis

In this article, we document a detailed analytical characterisation of zircon M127, a homogeneous 12.7 carat gemstone from Ratnapura, Sri Lanka. Zircon M127 has TIMS‐determined mean U–Pb radiogenic isotopic ratios of 0.084743 ± 0.000027 for ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U and 0.67676 ± 0.00023 for ²⁰⁷Pb/²³⁵U (weighted means, 2s uncertainties). Its ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U age of 524.36 ± 0.16 Ma (95% confidence uncertainty) is concordant within the uncertainties of decay constants. The δ¹⁸O value (determined by laser fluorination) is 8.26 ± 0.06‰ VSMOW (2s), and the mean ¹⁷⁶Hf/¹⁷⁷Hf ratio (determined by solution ICP‐MS) is 0.282396 ± 0.000004 (2s). The SIMS‐determined δ⁷Li value is ?0.6 ± 0.9‰ (2s), with a mean mass fraction of 1.0 ± 0.1 μg g^?1 Li (2s). Zircon M127 contains ~ 923 μg g^?1 U. The moderate degree of radiation damage corresponds well with the time‐integrated self‐irradiation dose of 1.82 × 10¹⁸ alpha events per gram. This observation, and the (U–Th)/He age of 426 ± 7 Ma (2s), which is typical of unheated Sri Lankan zircon, enable us to exclude any thermal treatment. Zircon M127 is proposed as a reference material for the determination of zircon U–Pb ages by means of SIMS in combination with hafnium and stable isotope (oxygen and potentially also lithium) determination.     

Provenance of buried esker groundwater: the case of Vars-Winchester esker aquifer,Eastern Ontario,Canada

An innovative mode of groundwater recharge to a buried esker aquifer is considered. The current conceptual model affords a natural safeguard to underlying aquifers from the overlying muds. A hypothesis of groundwater recharge to a buried esker aquifer via preferential pathways across its overlying muds is tested here by heuristic numerical one-dimensional and two-dimensional modeling simulations. The hypothesis has been tested against two other conventionally accepted scenarios involving: (1) distal esker outcrop areas and (2) remote shallow-bedrock recharge areas. The main evidence comes from documented recharge pressure pulses in the overlying mud aquitard and in the underlying esker hydraulic-head time series for the Vars-Winchester esker aquifer in Eastern Ontario, Canada. These perturbations to the potentiometric surface are believed to be the aquifer response to recharge events. The migration rate of these pressure pulses is directly related to the hydraulic diffusivity of the formation. The measured response time and response amplitude between singular radar precipitation events and well hydrographs constituted the heuristic model calibration targets. The main evidence also includes mud-layering deformation (water escape features) which was observed in seismic surveys of the over-esker muds. These disturbed stratigraphic elements provide a realistic mechanism for migrating water to transit through the muds. The effective hydraulic conductivities of these preferential pathways in the muds were estimated to be between 2?×?10^?6 and 7?×?10^?6 m/s. The implications of these findings relate to the alleged natural safeguard of these overlying muds.     

Characterization of fresh and weathered petroleum for potential impacts to soil fertility

In many petroleum-producing regions, there are not adequate controls to prevent pipeline breaks and spills, and thus soil is frequently contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons. Different petroleum oil compounds may produce negative impacts on soil fertility. In this study, four fresh crudes, a weathered petroleum, and oils from bioremediated and burned sites were investigated (specific gravities 0.83–1.27). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy revealed three predominant polar functional groups to be more plentiful in the heavier crudes. The relative abundance of these groups was used to calculate an index that was directly correlated with specific gravity (R ² = 0.9960) and the percent of asphaltene plus (polars + resins) fractions in the oil (R ² = 0.9643). This index correlated exponentially to the water repellency caused by petroleum in an alluvial soil (R ² = 0.9928). Furthermore, extra-heavy oil at a concentration of 10,000 ppm, the maximum allowable oil concentration in the soil that is within regulatory norms in many US states and other countries, and with a specific gravity >1.002, showed severe water repellency. This study presents an alternative for determining soil remediation criteria based on the API gravity of the oil rather than the C-range of the hydrocarbon mixtures, simplifying analytical methods and systematically studying the interaction between the kinds of petroleum mixtures and potential impacts to soil fertility.     

Appraisal of changes in sewage sludge management

A positive energy balance caused by accelerated production of CH₄ and additional financial benefits associated with shorter retention times, reduction in volumes, easier dewatering, enhanced hygiene, etc., are the reasons why most modern wastewater treatment plants are newly equipped with hydrothermal pretreatment units. This study examined how the changes in composition of the pretreated sewage sludge fermentation residues manifested themselves in subsequent processing by pyrolysis, both in terms of technology and financial impacts. It has been found that concentrations of heavy metals and other hazardous inhibitors might increase; however, the overall biotoxicity is lower due to their immobilization in the charred mass. Moreover, charring of the fermentation residues results in significant financial as well as technological benefits.