Degradation of plastic carrier bags in the marine environment

There is considerable concern about the hazards that plastic debris presents to wildlife. Use of polymers that degrade more quickly than conventional plastics presents a possible solution to this problem. Here we investigate breakdown of two oxo-biodegradable plastics, compostable plastic and standard polyethylene in the marine environment. Tensile strength of all materials decreased during exposure, but at different rates. Compostable plastic disappeared from our test rig between 16 and 24 weeks whereas approximately 98% of the other plastics remained after 40 weeks. Some plastics require UV light to degrade. Transmittance of UV through oxo-biodegradable and standard polyethylene decreased as a consequence of fouling such that these materials received ～ 90% less UV light after 40 weeks. Our data indicate that compostable plastics may degrade relatively quickly compared to oxo-biodegradable and conventional plastics. While degradable polymers offer waste management solutions, there are limitations to their effectiveness in reducing hazards associated with plastic debris.     

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in a large South American industrial coastal area (Santos Estuary, Southeastern Brazil): sources and depositional history

Located in southeastern Brazil, the Santos Estuary has the most important industrial and urban population area of South America. Since the 1950's, increased urbanization and industrialization near the estuary margins has caused the degradation of mangroves and has increased the discharge of sewage and industrial effluents. The main objectives of this work were to determine the concentrations and sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in sediment cores in order to investigate the input of these substances in the last 50 years. The PAHs analyses indicated multiple sources of these compounds (oil and pyrolitic origin), basically anthropogenic contributions from biomass, coal and fossil fuels combustion. The distribution of PAHs in the cores was associated with the formation and development of Cubat?o industrial complex and the Santos harbour, waste disposal, world oil crisis and the pollution control program, which results in the decrease of organic pollutants input in this area.     

High matrix interference affecting detection of PAH metabolites in bile of Atlantic hagfish (Myxine glutinosa) used for biomonitoring of deep-water oil production

The characteristic biology and wide distribution of hagfish species makes them relevant for use in pollution biomonitoring at great water depths, particularly in regions where deep-water oil production may take place. The exposure of fish to petrogenic contaminants can normally be detected from the level of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) metabolites in bile fluid. Some of these metabolites are strong fluorophores, allowing analytical detection by means of simple fluorometric techniques such as fixed wavelength fluorescence (FF) and synchronous fluorescence scanning (SFS). In the present study bile from Atlantic hagfish (Myxine glutinosa) collected in pristine areas (Barents Sea and southwestern Norway) displayed strong bile fluorescence levels, suggesting the presence of PAH contaminants. However, gas-chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analyses ruled out PAHs as the origin for this fluorescence signal. Rather, the bile of Myxine contains components resulting in unusually strong background fluorescence interfering at the wavelength pairs used for detection of PAH metabolites. Possible background for the observed matrix interference and implications for detection of PAH metabolites in hagfish is discussed.     

Intelligent Space Tube Optimization for speeding ground water remedial design

An innovative Intelligent Space Tube Optimization (ISTO) two-stage approach facilitates solving complex nonlinear flow and contaminant transport management problems. It reduces computational effort of designing optimal ground water remediation systems and strategies for an assumed set of wells. ISTO's stage 1 defines an adaptive mobile space tube that lengthens toward the optimal solution. The space tube has overlapping multidimensional subspaces. Stage 1 generates several strategies within the space tube, trains neural surrogate simulators (NSS) using the limited space tube data, and optimizes using an advanced genetic algorithm (AGA) with NSS. Stage 1 speeds evaluating assumed well locations and combinations. For a large complex plume of solvents and explosives, ISTO stage 1 reaches within 10% of the optimal solution 25% faster than an efficient AGA coupled with comprehensive tabu search (AGCT) does by itself. ISTO input parameters include space tube radius and number of strategies used to train NSS per cycle. Larger radii can speed convergence to optimality for optimizations that achieve it but might increase the number of optimizations reaching it. ISTO stage 2 automatically refines the NSS-AGA stage 1 optimal strategy using heuristic optimization (we used AGCT), without using NSS surrogates. Stage 2 explores the entire solution space. ISTO is applicable for many heuristic optimization settings in which the numerical simulator is computationally intensive, and one would like to reduce that burden.     

Uptake and tissue distribution of C4-C7 alkylphenols in Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua): relevance for biomonitoring of produced water discharges from oil production

The sensitivity of different tissues for assessment of chronic low-dose environmental exposure of fish to alkylphenols (APs) was investigated. We exposed Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) in the laboratory to tritium labelled 4-tert-butylphenol, 4n-pentylphenol, 4n-hexylphenol, and 4n-heptylphenol via seawater (8 ng/l) and via contaminated feed (5 μg/kg fish per day). Measurements of different fish tissues during eight days of exposure and eight subsequent days of recovery revealed that APs administered via spiked seawater were readily taken up whereas the uptake was far less efficient when APs were administered in spiked feed. AP residues were mainly located in the bile fluid whereas the concentrations in liver were very low, indicating a rapid excretion and the liver-bile axis to be the major route of elimination. The biological half-life of APs in the exposed cod was short, between 10 and 20 h. Our study shows that in connection with biomonitoring of AP exposure in fish, assessment of AP metabolites in bile fluid is a more sensitive tool than detection of parent AP levels in liver or other internal tissues.     

发展中国家的地质调查机构:援助战略(一)

一、引论 对发展中国家进行技术和财政援助的施援国作出了很大的努力,以帮助受援国建立起适应经济发展的基础设施。在许多地区,这种开发援助形成了明显易见和可交付使用的设施,如公路、铁路、港口、发电站、医院、学校和房舍。不太显见的是由科学和技术知识构成的基础层,而它是健全的国家发展计划的基本     

大型金矿构造-成矿系统及幔-壳多层循环体成因模式-以吉林夹皮沟金矿为例

基于目前代表性金矿成因模式的局限性,以吉林夹皮沟金矿为例把金矿的形成总结为定位、流体、物源、封闭、加热和构造成矿六大系统,建立新的幔-壳多层循环体成因模式:1)以幔源流体、岩浆热液和浅-表部水来源为主,按深、中、浅构成三个层次循环体;2)金质来自多层循环流体对多类型围岩的萃取、沟通混合及多次构造应力共同作用的结果;3)断层泥、迭瓦状构造地质体等可作为成矿封闭屏障;4)中生代(隐伏)花岗岩和各类型脉岩为主要加热热源;5)矿带座落在韧性构造超壳断裂之上及附近,而矿体却主要赋存在脆性构造内,主成矿时代为燕山期,整体受构造-成矿系统控制.该模式对燕山期花岗岩中金矿是一种检验,对其它变质岩区金矿则是一种启迪.     

成矿流体运动系统与金质来源和富集机制讨论

以 山东地区大型、超大型金矿为例,从运动学和动力学角度,系统研究其成矿作用的起点（岩石－岩浆－流体间的物理化学作用）和终点（矿富集于断裂复合处或交汇部位）,以及成矿流体在运动中的渗透、振荡、气－液态交替、流速的突变及多层次循环流体的萃取、沟通等多方面的共同作用。结果表明,巨量金质来源和富集的关键取决于各层次流体循环笼统间的沟通,地幔富Ｃ－Ｈ－Ｏ流体循环系统、中－下部地壳富硅流体循环系统、浅－表部（