Biodegradation of petroleum products in experimental plots in Antarctic marine sediments is location dependent

Clean sediment collected from O'Brien Bay, East Antarctica, was artificially contaminated with a mix of Special Antarctic Blend diesel fuel and lubricating oil and deployed in two uncontaminated locations (O'Brien and Sparkes Bays) and a previously contaminated bay (Brown Bay) to evaluate whether a history of prior contamination would influence the biodegradation process. Detailed analysis of the hydrocarbon composition in the sediment after 11 weeks revealed different patterns of degradation in each bay. Biodegradation indices showed that hydrocarbon biodegradation occurred in all three bays but was most extensive in Brown Bay. This study shows that even within a relatively small geographical area, the longevity of hydrocarbons in Antarctic marine sediments can be variable. Our results are consistent with faster natural attenuation of spilt oil at sites with previous exposure to oil but further work is needed to confirm this. Such information would be useful when evaluating the true risk and longevity of oils spills.     

Status of macrobenthic community of Manifa-Tanajib Bay System of Saudi Arabia based on a once-off sampling event

Shallow water bays located in the western Arabian Gulf experience harsh environmental conditions. Some of these bays, including Manifa-Tanajib Bay System (MTBS), were also exposed to the 1991 oil pollution event. This study investigates the status of the macrobenthos in MTBS during 2006. This bay system is characterized by very shallow inner bays with elevated salinity and temperature compared to the rest of the bay area. As a result mainly of the hyper salinity, the inner bay communities are distinct from the outer bay communities. Overall, fairly high species richness with several rare species was observed. High Shannon-Wiener diversity values and ABC plots indicated the healthy status of the polychaete communities, while BOPA index indicated slightly polluted status in 20% of the stations. The oil sensitive amphipods were not completely re-colonized in 20% of the stations, even after 15 years of recovery from the 1991 oil spill.     

用水平定向钻进在北极圈内铺设管道

本文详细介绍了在美国阿拉斯加州用非开挖技术,穿越河流铺设４条油管的工程,穿越长度１３０３ｍ,管径５００ｍｍ。文章介绍了在－５０℃的气温下钻进的情况,包括钻孔液成分泥浆马达和导向等问题。     

变质地质学研究的若干进展——29届国际地质大会专题简介

变质地质学及有关问题是第29届国际地质大会讨论的重要议题之一。有许多专题都直接或间接地计论了这些问题。本文概要地介绍了几个方面的一些新进展和新动向,其中包括变质作用的时空演化、造山带变质作用过程的模式、超高压变质作用、极低温变质作用和变质带的构造过程等。这些议题从不同角度反映了当代变质地质学研究领域的发展趋势,对推动我国在这一领域的研究具有一定意义。     

新疆阿尔泰红柱石-矽线石型变质带的独居石年龄及其地质意义

新疆阿尔泰地区的红柱石-矽线石型递增变质带,由绿泥石-黑云母带、黑云母-石榴石带、石榴石-十字石带、十字石-红柱石带和矽线石带组成;递增变质作用峰期温度、压力分别为T=580～680℃、P=4.0～5.1kbar;递增变质作用形成的变质岩中含有丰富的独居石副矿物,而且Th-U-Pb含量比较高,适合电子探针独居石化学法定年。依据电子探针独居石Th-U-Pb化学法(CHIME法)定年,变质时代为(262±10)～(264±22)Ma。表明红柱石-矽线石型递增变质带形成于二叠纪中期,为古亚洲洋闭合时间提供了直接的年代学依据。     

0.1GPa块状榴辉岩脱水部分熔融:局部熔融体系和温度的影响

选取了湖北英山东冲河含有含水矿物黑云母和角闪石的退变质榴辉岩块状样品, 在0.1 GPa的恒压下, 分别进行了750、800、850、900℃四个温阶、恒温加热4 h的开放体系的脱水部分熔融实验.熔融从含水矿物的脱水暗化开始, 850℃时出现玻璃质熔体.镜下观察显示, 熔体主要分布在后成合晶边界、熔融程度最高的样品顶端、石英颗粒边界及裂隙内部这3个局部熔融体系内.受局部体系内部物质组成的控制, 同一温阶、不同体系内的熔体成分变化很大, 呈基性、中性和酸性.随着温度的升高, 同一体系内的熔体成分均向酸性方向演化.该实验结果表明, 恒压下局部熔融体系内物质组成的不同和温度的变化是影响熔体成分的2个重要因素, 这为理解榴辉岩块状样品的脱水部分熔融行为及与其他基性变质岩类的熔融行为进行对比提供了实验依据.      

Contaminant exposures at the 4H shell mounds in the Santa Barbara Channel

Remobilization, bioavailability, and potential toxicity of chemical contaminants were evaluated at the 4H shell mounds – the site of abandoned offshore oil and gas production platforms in the Santa Barbara Channel region of the Southern California Bight. Evaluations used a weight-of-evidence approach based on results from bulk phase chemical analyses and laboratory toxicity testing of shell mound cores, in situ field bioassays using caged mussels, and surficial sediment chemistry. Shell mound cores contained elevated concentrations of metals associated with drilling wastes (e.g., Ba, Cr, Pb, and Zn), as well as monocyclic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The highest concentrations along with pockets of free oil were associated with the middle “cuttings” stratum. Sediments composited from all core strata caused significant acute toxicity and bioaccumulation of Ba and PAHs in test organisms during laboratory exposures. In contrast, caged mussels placed at each of the shell mounds for a period of 57–58 days had greater than 90% survival, and there were no significant differences in survival of mussels placed at the shell mounds and corresponding reference sites. While all mussel samples exhibited increases in shell length, whole animal weight, and tissue lipid content, in some cases growth metrics for the shell mound mussels were significantly higher than those for the reference sites. Concentrations of metals, PAHs, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in tissues of the shell mound mussels were not significantly different from those at reference sites. The presence of labile aromatic hydrocarbons in shell mound cores and absence of significant contaminant accumulation of tissues of caged mussels indicated that chemical contaminants are not being remobilized from the 4H shell mounds. Surficial bottom sediments near the shell mounds contained elevated Ba concentrations that probably were associated with drilling wastes. However, concentrations did not exhibit clear spatial gradients with distance from the shell mounds. Despite a number of storm events during the mussel exposures, maximum currents were 34 cm s⁻¹ and unlikely to erode materials from the shell mounds. Thus, Ba distributions in bottom sediments probably were due to episodic disturbance such as platform removal or trawling rather than ongoing erosion and dispersion of shell mound solids by near-bottom currents. These results suggest that, in the absence of physical disturbances, contaminants are expected to remain sequestered in the shell mounds.     

Metal partitioning between colloidal and dissolved phases and its relation with bioavailability to American oysters

Kinetics and the extent of metal partitioning between colloidal and dissolved phases and coagulation of metals associated with colloids were examined to determine their effects on the bioavailability of selected metals (Cd, Co, Hg, Ag, Fe, and Zn) to American oysters (Crassostrea virginica) using radiotracer and short term exposure experiments. After dispersion of radiolabeled colloids into low molecular weight (LMW, < 1 kDa) seawater, metal partitioning between dissolved (<1 kDa) and colloidal (1 kDa-0.2 microm) phases resulted in a consistent pattern, with a relatively constant percentage in the colloidal phase for each metal. On average, about 90% of Hg and Fe, approximately 60% of Ag and approximately 40% of Zn, Co, and Cd were measured in the colloidal fraction during a short term exposure experiment, consistent with their partitioning in natural waters. Controlled laboratory experiments carried out in parallel using radioactively tagged colloids showed that coagulation of colloidal species, quantified as the fraction retained by a 0.2 microm filter, was insignificant for most metals under the conditions and time periods of the uptake experiments. The bioavailability of colloidally complexed metals, measured in terms of dry weight concentration factor (DCF, ml g(-1)) and uptake rate constant (ml g(-1) h(-1)), was somewhat depressed compared with their counterpart in the LMW treatment, but could be well predicted from the results of the LMW treatment and metal partitioning. Both DCF values and uptake rate constants were higher in the LMW treatment than in the colloidal treatment. In addition, B-type metals, such as Ag, Hg, and Zn, all had higher values of DCF and uptake rate constants, regardless of treatments, except for Cd which had a lower DCF and uptake rate constant. In contrast, Co and Fe had significantly lower DCF values and uptake rate constants. Most of Hg and Ag (60-80%) were measured in the soft tissue of oysters in both LMW and colloidal treatments. In contrast, 80% of Fe, 75% of Co, and approximately 60% of Cd were observed on the shell, while Zn was found evenly distributed between shell and soft tissue of oysters. These results agree well with the variation pattern of both DCF value and uptake rate constant for these two groups of metals.