Sediments Quality Assessment of Jacarepaguá Lagoon: The Venue of the 2011 Rock in Rio

In order to aid in the efforts of the 2016 Olympic Games, the organizers of 2011 Rock in Rio decided to build a permanent venue next to the Olympic Park. The area is problematic from the geotechnical point of view since it presents soils with low shear strength, low permeability, and high plasticity, so major soil improvement works were carried out. Bored soil–cement columns were placed to increase soil shear strength and reduce compressibility. A meter thick fill composed of gneiss residual soil was placed and trenches were digged to drain rainwater. However, earlier studies conducted on Jacarepaguá Lagoon have detected the presence of heavy metals in these sediments. In this study, an environmental survey on the Jacarepaguá Lagoon sediments took place in order to choose a place where its sediments could be dredged to be later used in the drainage facilities. The results indicated areas where the threshold level 1 (low probability of adverse effects) issued by the general procedures for sediments quality assessments for dredging purposes, Resolution no 344 of the Brazilian Federal Government, was surpassed. Levels above the limits established for cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), and zinc (Zn) were detected. Based on this consideration the State Environmental Agency issued a permit allowing the organizers of 2011 Rock in Rio to dredge an area close to City of Rock in order to obtain coarse sediments for the drainage facilities. In addition, it was found that those sediments were ideal for this application since their hydraulic conductivity is on the order of 10^?2 cm/s.     

Raman spectroscopic analysis of cyanobacterial colonization of hydromagnesite, a putative martian extremophile

Raman spectra of an extremophile cyanobacterial colony in hydromagnesite from Lake Salda in Turkey have revealed a biogeological modification which is manifest as aragonite in the stratum associated with the colony. The presence of key spectral biomarkers of organic protectant molecules such as β-carotene and scytonemin indicate that the survival strategy of the cyanobacteria is significantly one of UV-radiation protection. The terrestrial location of this extremophile is worthy of consideration further because of its possible putative link with the “White Rock” formations in Sabaea Terra and Juventae Chasma on Mars.     

Pollen sequence from the Chilean Lake District during the Llanquihue glaciation in marine Oxygen Isotope Stages 4–2

Pollen stratigraphy of a core taken from a fen at Fundo Nueva Braunau (40°17.49′S, 73°04.83′W), situated 2 km beyond the western border of Llanquihue‐age glacial drift, spans an age range from an estimated 60 000–70 000 BP to about 14 000 ¹⁴C yr BP (marine Oxygen Isotope Stages 4–2). The location at present is in the contact zone of Valdivian Evergreen Forest and Lowland Deciduous Beech Forest. Early and late in the pollen record, as indicated by assemblages of southern beech (Nothofagus dombeyi type) and grass (Gramineae), the site was located in Subantarctic Parkland. Intervening assemblages represent expansion of Valdivian–North Patagonian Evergreen Forest (> 49 355 to about 40 000 ¹⁴C yr BP) and North Patagonian Evergreen Forest–Subantarctic Parkland (approximately 40 000 to 30 000 ¹⁴C yr BP). Climate over the time span was under the storm regime of the Southern Westerlies and apparently uninterruptedly wet. When Subantarctic Parkland expanded, cold conditions with summer temperatures estimated at 8–9°C (7°C lower than present) resulted in episodes of glacier maxima. Climate moderated during the period of forest expansion, at which time glaciers were in a state of recession. Contrasting with the continuously wet climate of the Lake District for the period of record, climate in semi‐arid–arid, subtropical Chile underwent extended intervals of precipitation. Data from both the terrestrial and marine realm implicate the Southern Westerlies as the cause of intensified storm activity at lower latitudes. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effect of isolation temperature on the characteristics of extracellular proteases produced by Antarctic bacteria

Protease-producing psychrotolerant bacteria were isolated from Antarctic biotopes on casein agar plates using different incubation temperatures. Most of the isolates were non-spore-forming Gram-negative motile rods with catalase activity, 30% were pigmented and none of them were glucose fermenters. All the strains were grown in liquid cultures at 20°C and protease secretion was tested using the azocasein method. Despite their capacity for production of a clear zone of hydrolysis in agar plates, some strains did not produce detectable levels of proteolytic activity in liquid cultures. The lowest apparent optimum temperature for protease activity found in culture supernatants was 40°C. Almost all the strains showed activation energy values about 10-20 kJ-mol⁻¹ lower than that observed for a mesophilic Subtilisin. Most of the proteases showed optimal activity at neutral or alkaline pH values and developed a multiple-band profile on gelatine-SDS-PAGE. It was observed that the lower the strain isolation temperature was, the more stongly cold-adapted–in terms of optimal temperature and activation energy–were the proteases produced by them. This dependence of the characteristics of the proteases on the isolation temperature is an important factor to take into account in the design of screening programmes directed towards the isolation of psychrotolerant bacteria able to produce proteases strongly or weakly adapted to work in the cold. The Antarctic area explored proved to be a promising source of proteolytic bacteria with potential use in industrial processes to be carried out at low or moderate temperatures.     

Preliminary investigations on the occurrence of diagenetic dolomite in surface sediments of Lagoa Vermelha,Brazil

Studies on the precipitation of carbonates in a hypersaline lagoon revealed the presence of diagenetic dolomite at very shallow sediment depths. The relation of magnesium to calcium concentration both in interstitial and surface waters are within the range predicted in the literature for this occurence. Lower values encountered in some samples were linked to interactions with fresh groundwater.     

Review of oil and HNS accidental spills in Europe: identifying major environmental monitoring gaps and drawing priorities

The European Atlantic area has been the scene of a number of extensive shipping incidents with immediate and potential long-term impacts to marine ecosystems. The occurrence of accidental spills at sea requires an effective response that must include a well executed monitoring programme to assess the environmental contamination and damage of the affected marine habitats. Despite a number of conventions and protocols developed by international and national authorities that focused on the preparedness and response to oil and HNS spills, much remains to be done, particularly in relation to the effectiveness of the environmental monitoring programmes implemented after oil and HNS spills. Hence, the present study reviews the status of the environmental monitoring programmes established following the major spill incidents over the last years in European waters, aiming at identifying the key monitoring gaps and drawing priorities for an effective environmental monitoring of accidental spills.     

Spatial and temporal distribution of cadmium and copper in water and zooplankton in the Bahía Blanca estuary,Argentina

Cadmium and copper in the dissolved and particulate phase and in zooplankton were determined in the Bahía Blanca estuary during six surveys from March to December 2005. Temperature, pH, salinity, dissolved oxygen, suspended particulate matter, particulate organic matter and chlorophyll-a were also considered. Dissolved Cd was below the detection limit (0.2 μg L⁻¹) for almost the entire study period whereas Cu concentrations (0.5–2.4 μg L⁻¹) indicated a continuous dissolved Cu input. Particulate Cd concentrations ranged from below the detection limit (<0.01) to 28.6 μg g⁻¹ d.w. while particulate Cu ranged from below the detection limit (<0.04) to 53.5 μg g⁻¹ d.w. Cd in mesozooplankton ranged from below the detection limit (<0.01) to 37.4 μg g⁻¹ d.w. Some of the Cd levels were higher than those reported for other aquatic ecosystems. Cu in the mesozooplankton ranged from 1.3 to 89.3 μg g⁻¹ d.w., values which were within the reported values or higher than other studies. The log of the partition coefficients (log (K_d)) of Cd was 0.04, while log (K_d) for Cu ranged from −0.39 to 2.79. These values were lower than both those calculated for other estuaries and the typical coefficients for marine environments. The log of the bioconcentration factor (log BCF) of Cd was 1.78, indicating that Cd concentration was higher in the zooplankton than in the dissolved phase. Log BCF of Cu ranged from 1.15 to 3. The logs of the biomagnification factors (log BMF) of Cd were low, with a range between −3.45 and 2.21 and those for Cu ranged from −0.1 to 3.35. Positive values indicate biomagnification while negative values indicate biodiminution. In general, no significant dissolved Cd concentration appeared to be present in the Bahía Blanca estuary and Cu values did not indicate a critical environmental status. The particulate phase seemed to be the major carrier for Cd and Cu and TPCu values were within the normal values for an anthropogenically stressed estuary but not for a strongly polluted system. This fraction was the most important metal source for the mesozooplankton. Moreover, the highest metal concentrations were in the mesozooplankton since most of the bioconcentration and biomagnification factors were positive, especially for Cu.