Honduras: Caribbean Coast

The coast of Honduras, Central America, represents the southern end of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System, although its marine resources are less extensive and studied than nearby Belize and Mexico. However, the coastal zone contains mainland reef formations, mangroves, wetlands, seagrass beds and extensive fringing reefs around its offshore islands, and has a key role in the economy of the country. Like most tropical areas, this complex of benthic habitats experiences limited annual variation in climatic and oceanographic conditions but seasonal and occasional conditions, particularly coral bleaching and hurricanes, are important influences. The effects of stochastic factors on the country's coral reefs were clearly demonstrated during 1998 when Honduras experienced a major hurricane and bleaching event. Any natural or anthropogenic impacts on reef health will inevitably affect other countries in Latin America, and vice versa, since the marine resources are linked via currents and the functioning of the system transcends political boundaries. Much further work on, for example, movement of larvae and transfer of pollutants is required to delineate the full extent of these links.

Anthropogenic impacts, largely driven by the increasing population and proportion of people living in coastal areas, are numerous and include key factors such as agricultural run-off, over-fishing, urban and industrial pollution (particularly sewage) and infrastructure development. Many of these threats act synergistically and, for example, poor watershed management via shifting cultivation, increases sedimentation and pesticide run-off onto coral reefs, which increases stress to corals already affected by decreasing water quality and coral bleaching. Threats from agriculture and fishing are particularly significant because of the size of both industries. The desire to generate urgently required revenue within Honduras has also led to increased tourism which provides an over-arching stress to marine resources since most tourists spend time in the coastal zone. Hence the last decade has seen a dramatic increase in coastal development, a greater requirement for sewage treatment and more demand for freshwater, particularly in the Bay Islands.

Although coastal zone management is relatively recent in Honduras, it is gaining momentum from both large-scale initiatives, such as the Ministry of Tourism's ‘Bay Islands Environmental Management Project', and national and international NGO projects. For example, a series of marine protected areas and legislative regulations have been established, but management capacity, enforcement and monitoring are limited by funding, expertise and training. Existing and future initiatives, supported by increased political will and environmental awareness of stakeholders, are vital for the long-term economic development of the country.     

气压计的误差传播：2.对岩石的应用

对气压计用于岩石中的组合时压力的不准确度作出新评价。考虑的误差来源包括:通过实验确定的端员反应压力位置的准确度,体积测定误差,分析误差,电子探针标准成分及α因子的不准确度,温度计标准误差,石榴石和斜长石活度模型的变化以及天然矿物的成分不均匀性。对标定误差和分析误差可作统计处理,而对活度模型和天然成分的不均匀性则多半不能做统计处理。我们根据,5种气压计的分析结果对相当于这些误差来源的压力方面传播的误差的估算值(1σ或1/4宽度)为±0.3×10~8～±0.4×10~8Pa的气压计标定误差,±2.5×10~5～±0.4×10~5Pa的体积测定误差,±0.25×10~8～±1.0×10~8Pa的温度计标定不准确度,±6×10~6～±1.5×10~8Pa的活度模型变率以及±1.5×10~7～±5×10~7Pa的天然成分不均匀性(据说与样品有关)。当分析未知相分别采用同一标准样和不同标准样时假定分析标准成分和α因子的1%不准确度对GASP气压计产生±40×10~5和±1.5×10~6Pa的传播误差。当应用于岩石时气压计的准确度一般可在±6×10~7～±32.50×10~7Pa的范围内(1σ或1/4宽度),而最大的误差来源为温度计标定的不准确度和约束不良的活度模型,目的在于将温度计不准确度降至最低而更好地约束活度成分关系的实验与经验研究应能显著减少所传播的误差。     

地球化学异常的运移和动力学分散—特罗多斯蛇绿岩中的热液运移

塞浦路斯特罗多斯蛇绿岩的~(87)Sr/~(86)Sr分析限制了流体-固体交换作用和由时间积分的流体流量,剖面上部约1km(包括枕状熔岩和最上部的席状岩墙)的~(87)Sr/~(86)Sr值介于特罗多斯新鲜火山玻璃(约0.7035)与白垩纪海水(约0.7075)之间。然而,下伏席状岩墙和最上部的深成岩体岩石的~(87)Sr/~(86)Sr比值分布范围相当窄(约0.7052 2σ),这些岩石包括一直被认为流体集中上涌带的石英绿泥石岩和绿帘岩。     

Environmental transformation of the Bilbao estuary,N. Spain: microfaunal and geochemical proxies in the recent sedimentary record

The distribution and abundance of benthic foraminifera and a range of elements have been analysed in six long cores (up to 10 m long) from the Bilbao estuary, N. Spain, to document environmental transformation of this estuarine ecosystem and to determine sediment contamination levels. Three different environmental zones could be distinguished in the recent sedimentary record based on its microfaunal and geochemical contents. Initially, a pre-industrial zone containing very abundant and diverse foraminiferal assemblages together with baseline metal levels. Secondly, an older industrial zone exhibiting co-existence of abundant and diverse foraminiferal assemblages with high concentrations of metals. Finally, a younger industrial zone with extreme concentrations of metals and barren of indigenous foraminifera. This environmental transformation has been caused by the discharge of untreated domestic and industrial effluents during the last 150 years. The occurrence of foraminifera in the two industrial zones and along the estuary is not related to defined levels of metals, and this seems to confirm oxygen limitation as the key factor to explain complete estuarine defaunation during deposition of the younger industrial zone (period 1950-2000). Effectiveness of current regeneration schemes could be assessed using microfaunal and geochemical proxies as environmental quality indicators.     

Electrochemical detection of harmful algae and other microbial contaminants in coastal waters using hand-held biosensors

Standard methods to identify microbial contaminants in the environment are slow, laborious, and can require specialized expertise. This study investigated electrochemical detection of microbial contaminants using commercially available, hand-held instruments. Electrochemical assays were developed for a red tide dinoflagellate (Karenia brevis), fecal-indicating bacteria (Enterococcus spp.), markers indicative of human sources of fecal pollution (human cluster Bacteroides and the esp gene of Enterococcus faecium), bacterial pathogens (Escherichia coli 0157:H7, Salmonella spp., Campylobacter jejuni, Staphylococcus aureus), and a viral pathogen (adenovirus). For K. brevis, two assay formats (Rapid PCR-Detect and Hybrid PCR-Detect) were tested and both provided detection limits of 10 genome equivalents for DNA isolated from K. brevis culture and amplified by PCR. Sensitivity with coastal water samples was sufficient to detect K. brevis that was "present" (相似文献   

Organochlorines and dioxin-like compounds in green-lipped mussels Perna viridis from Hong Kong mariculture zones

Concentrations of persistent organic pollutants including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine (OC) pesticides and dioxin-like compounds were measured in green-lipped mussels, Perna viridis, collected from seven mariculture zones in Hong Kong between September and October in 2002 in order to evaluate the status, spatial distribution and potential sources of pollution in these areas. Concentrations ranged from 300 to 4400 ng/g lipid weight for total OCs and 170–1000 ng/g lipid weight for total PCBs (based on 28 congeners). Relatively smaller DDT concentrations in mussels compared with previous studies suggest reduced discharges of DDTs from nearby regions into Hong Kong waters. Detection of a mixture of HCH isomers in the mussels indicated that Hong Kong waters were predominantly contaminated by technical HCHs rather than lindane. Mussel samples from all sampling locations elicited significant dioxin-like activity in the H4IIE-luc bioassay. The greatest magnitude of dioxin-like response (39 pg TEQ/g wet wt.) was detected in mussels from Ma Wan in the western waters of Hong Kong, which is strongly influenced by the Pearl River discharge. Human health risk assessment was undertaken to evaluate potential risks associated with the consumption of the green-lipped mussels. Risk quotient (RQ) for dioxin-like compounds was greater than unity suggesting that adverse health effects may be associated with high mussel consumption.     

Constraints on spatial variability in soft-sediment communities affected by contamination from an Antarctic waste disposal site

A small-scale (<500 m length) transect-based survey was conducted in December 1998 to examine the spatial distribution of soft-sediment communities and of concentrations of heavy metals and hydrocarbons in sediments in Brown Bay, adjacent to an abandoned waste dump, at Casey Station, Antarctica. Samples were taken along three transects at increasing distances (nine stations) from the shore-line waste dump. A gradient of contamination was detected, but concentrations of contaminants were very variable with "hotspots" or high levels of contaminants at some stations. Multivariate analysis revealed that the distribution of soft-sediment communities was distinctly different between the inner, middle and outer stations. Abundances of most taxa were very variable with few patterns apparent, but some fauna displayed an abundance gradient from the inner to the outer part of the bay. Many taxa had maximum abundances at outer stations and minimum at inner stations. Multivariate correlations between environmental variables and soft-sediment communities indicated that combinations of some metals (Cd, Cu, Sn, Pb) and grain size (mainly finer fractions, fine sands and coarse silts) were the variables that best "matched" the community patterns within Brown Bay. This study indicated that there were significant correlations between the presence of contaminants and the distribution and composition of soft-sediment communities over very small spatial scales.