Detection of DNA damage in mussels and sea urchins exposed to crude oil using comet assay

The single-cell microgel electrophoresis assay or the comet assay was used to evaluate DNA damage of dispersed crude oil on sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis) and mussels (Mytilus edulis L.). Sea urchins were exposed to 0.06 and 0.25 mg/L dispersed crude oil in a continuous flow system, while the mussels were exposed to 0.015, 0.06 and 0.25 mg/L dispersed crude oil. Sea urchin coelomocytes and mussel haemocytes were sampled after 4 and 5 weeks exposure, respectively. In the sea urchin coelomocytes, there was a significant concentration-related increase in the percentage of DNA in comet tail. In mussel haemocytes, there was a significantly higher percentage of DNA in comet tail for all treatments compared to the control. The responses were concentration-related up to 0.06 mg/L oil. The two highest exposure concentrations of mussels were not significantly different from each other. These results indicate that the comet assay can be used for biomonitoring of DNA damage in marine invertebrates following oil contamination.     

Propagation of the Southwest Indian Ridge at the Rodrigues Triple Junction

The analysis of multibeam bathymetric data of the Southwest Indian Ridge(SWIR) domain between the triple junction traces from 68° E to theRodrigues Triple Junction (RTJ; 70° E) reveals the evolution of thisridge since magnetic anomaly 4 (8 Ma). Image processing has been used toshow that the horizontal component of strain due to a network of normal stepfaults increases dramatically between 69°30 E and the RTJ. Thisarea close to the RTJ is characterized by a deep graben at the foot of thetriple junction trace on the African plate and by a narrow fault-boundedridge that joins an offset of the trace on the Antarctic plate. In thatarea, spreading is primarily amagmatic and dominated by tectonic extensionprocesses. To the west of 69°30 E, some lobate bathymetricfeatures atop of a large topographic high suggest volcanic constructions.Between 68°10 E and 69°25 E the southern flank of theSWIR domain is wider than the northern one and is characterized by a series of 7 en echelon bathymetric highs similar in size,shape and orientation to the one centred at 69°30E near the present-day triple junction. Their en echelon organization along the triple junction trace on the Antarctic plate and the typical lack of conjugated parts on the northern flank show that these bathymetric highs have been shifted to the south by successive northward relocalisations of the SWIR rifting zone. This evolution results in the asymmetric spreading of the SWIR in the survey area. The off-axis bathymetric highs connect to the offsets of the triple junction trace on the Antarctic plate when the Southeast Indian Ridges lightly lengthenstoward the northwest and the triple junction is relocated to the north. We propose that the SWIR lengthens toward the northeast with two propagation modes: 1) a continuous and progressive propagation with distributed deformation in preexisting crust of the Central Indian Ridge, 2) a discontinuous propagation with focusing of the deformation in a rift zone when the triple junction migrates rapidly to the north. The modes of propagation of the SWIR are related to different localisation and distribution of strain which are in turn controlled by changes of the triple junction configurations due to propagation, recession or a symmetric spreading on the Central and Southeast Indian Ridges.     

Measurement of the signal to noise ratio in seismic profiling

The measurement of the signal to noise ratio in continuous seismic profiling systems is carried out by means of a small general purpose digital computer equipped with an analog to digital converter. The computer is programmed to compute and compare the power spectrum of a sample of noise to the power spectrum of a sample of noise plus an echo. Power spectra of some twenty to fifty shots are averaged to yield reliable estimates of the signal to noise ratio as a function of frequency. The observed spectra agree well with spectra calculated from signals measured near to an air-gun. This measurement of signal to noise ratio as a function of frequency provides unambiguous information for the adjustment of the necessary band-pass filter thus improving the operation of a continuous seismic profiler.     

Co–rich Mn crusts from the Magellan Seamount cluster: the long journey through time

The Magellan seamounts began forming as large submarine shield volcanoes south of the equator during the Cretaceous. These volcanoes formed as a cluster on the small Pacific plate in a period when tectonic stress was absent. Thermal subsidence of the seafloor led to sinking of these volcanoes and the formation of guyots as the seamounts crossed the equatorial South Pacific (10–0°S) sequentially and ocean surface temperatures became too high for calcareous organisms to survive. Guyot formation was completed between about 59 and 45 Ma and the guyots became phosphatized at about 39–34 and 27–21 Ma. Ferromanganese crusts began formation as proto-crusts on the seamounts and guyots of the Magellan Seamount cluster towards the end of the Cretaceous up to 55 Ma after the formation of the seamounts themselves. The chemical composition of these crusts evolved over time in a series of steps in response to changes in global climate and ocean circulation. The great thickness of these crusts (up to 15–20 cm) reflects their very long period of growth. The high Co contents of the outer parts of the crusts are a consequence of the increasing deep circulation of the ocean and the resulting deepening of the oxygen minimum zone with time. Growth of the Co-rich Mn crusts in the Magellan Seamount cluster can be considered to be the culmination of a long journey through time.     

早第三纪济阳湖盆的形成和演变

在构造和气候的综合作用下,本区在早第三纪成为一个大型裂谷湖盆,并在沙四、沙三和沙一期因受古太平洋海泛影响而具有"近海"湖盆的特征,其演变经历了初始形成-强烈扩张-晚期扩张-收缩干涸四个阶段,构成一个完整的湖侵-湖退旋回和湖泊早期形成-中期扩张-晚期收缩三个亚旋回。     

Study on rain-runoff process in the peripheral mountainous area of the Sichuan Basin

Studies on rain-runoff process in the peripheral mountainous area of the Sichuan Basin, which is regarded as a key ecological shelter, will contribute to flood control and environmental protection for the Upper Yangtze River Basin. In two typical catchments--the Fujiang River Catchment and the Wujiang River Catchment, rainfall simulations have been conducted to study the rain-runoff processes of yellow soil and limestone soil in three types of land use--forestland, farmland and grassland. Results showed that （1） within the same rainfall process, overland flow occurs first on farmland, then on grassland, and finally on forestland; （2） soil surface coverage has a great impact on the occurrence and amount of overland flow. The runoff amount can increase 2-4 times after the coverage is removed; （3） the infiltration before the occurrence of overland flow will decrease because of higher gravel contents of soil, but it takes no effect on infiltration once overland flow becomes stable; （4） the runoff coefficient of the limestone soil forestland is greater than that of the yellow soil forest land, but less than that of the farmland; （5） three empirical infiltration models, including Horton＇ model, Kostiakov＇ model, and modified Kostiakov＇ model, were compared by using the observed results under rainfall simulation. The results showed that the Kostiakov＇ model performed better than both the Horton＇ model and modified Kostiakov model. According to the results of this research, the Kostiakov＇s model can be used to simulate rainfall infiltration when water erosion is modeled in the peripheral mountainous area of the Sichuan Basin.     

Simulation experiment on hydrocarbon generating potential of various source rocks on the northern margin of the Qaidam Basin,Qinghai, China

The northern margin of the Qaidam Basin is one of the main oil-gas exploration areas in western China, where source rocks are composed mostly of Middle and Lower Jurassic dark mud shale, carbargillite and coal. A large number of subsurface and outcrop samples differing in lithology with different types of organic matter were selected for resource evaluation, research and calculation. And among them, 13 samples were used for simulation experiment on hydrocarbon generating potential of various source rocks. At first, two kinds of heating modes were compared through simulation experiment, including single temperature-step heating and continual heating. Perhaps, the process of hydrocarbon generation and expulsion occurred naturally between a close system and an open system. In addition, the first heating mode was convenient, and all its reaction products were involved in the whole thermal evolution, and the final simulation experimental results were basically in consistency with the natural evolution trend Therefore, the first heating mode was adopted and the hydrocarbon yield of every sample was worked out. According to the type and lithology of organic matter and the hydrocarbon yield of samples for simulation experiment, hydrocarbon generation and expulsion mode with three kinds of lithology and five types of source rock has been established to provide the basis for hydrocarbon generation evaluation, research and resource calculation.     

Regional yield estimation for winter wheat with MODIS-NDVI data in Shandong, China

The significance of crop yield estimation is well known in agricultural management and policy development at regional and national levels. The primary objective of this study was to test the suitability of the method, depending on predicted crop production, to estimate crop yield with a MODIS-NDVI-based model on a regional scale. In this paper, MODIS-NDVI data, with a 250 m resolution, was used to estimate the winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) yield in one of the main winter-wheat-growing regions. Our study region is located in Jining, Shandong Province. In order to improve the quality of remote sensing data and the accuracy of yield prediction, especially to eliminate the cloud-contaminated data and abnormal data in the MODIS-NDVI series, the Savitzky–Golay filter was applied to smooth the 10-day NDVI data. The spatial accumulation of NDVI at the county level was used to test its relationship with winter wheat production in the study area. A linear regressive relationship between the spatial accumulation of NDVI and the production of winter wheat was established using a stepwise regression method. The average yield was derived from predicted production divided by the growing acreage of winter wheat on a county level. Finally, the results were validated by the ground survey data, and the errors were compared with the errors of agro-climate models. The results showed that the relative errors of the predicted yield using MODIS-NDVI are between −4.62% and 5.40% and that whole RMSE was 214.16 kg ha⁻¹ lower than the RMSE (233.35 kg ha⁻¹) of agro-climate models in this study region. A good predicted yield data of winter wheat could be got about 40 days ahead of harvest time, i.e. at the booting-heading stage of winter wheat. The method suggested in this paper was good for predicting regional winter wheat production and yield estimation.     

Fluid inclusion and stable isotope characteristics of the Karalar (Gazipaşa,Antalya) barite-galena deposits,Southern Turkey

The Karalar galena-barite deposits are typical examples of the carbonate-hosted barite-galena deposits widely occurring in the Central Tauride Belt. These deposits are located in Permian limestones as ore veins along fault zones that are discordant to the bedding planes and as thin veinlets within hardly brecciated bottom zones of Permian limestones. The ore deposits contain mainly barite and galena and small amounts of sphalerite, pyrite, fahlore, limonite, quartz, and calcite. Barites occur during the earlier episode of mineralization and were mylonitized before the formation of galena. Galena and other minerals occur epigenetically with barite along porous zones between brecciated barite crystals and are especially abundant in the hardly mylonitized zones. Fluid inclusion studies indicate that the ore deposits of the area were developed by hydrothermal fluids with following characteristics: they contained NaCl, CaCl₂, and MgCl₂; the salinity of the fluids was relatively high and their temperature was low during the crystallization of barites in the earlier episode of mineralization; and the salinity of the fluids decreased and their temperature increased during the crystallization of sulfide minerals through the later episode of mineralization. δ₁₈O and the δD results indicate that the water in the mineralizing fluid was of meteoric origin. The deposits were formed by deep meteoric water circulating through marine sediments. Shallow circulating and slightly warmed fluids dissolved Ba and sulfate from marine sediments of the basement and transported them to the mineralization environment during the early episode, while deep circulating and more heated fluids dissolved Pb, Zn, and other elements from the basement and reached the environment during the later episode of mineralization. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Comparison of dissolved and particulate arsenic distributions in shallow aquifers of Chakdaha, India, and Araihazar, Bangladesh

Background  

The origin of the spatial variability of dissolved As concentrations in shallow aquifers of the Bengal Basin remains poorly understood. To address this, we compare here transects of simultaneously-collected groundwater and aquifer solids perpendicular to the banks of the Hooghly River in Chakdaha, India, and the Old Brahmaputra River in Araihazar, Bangladesh.