Sediment–water interactions of natural oestrogens under estuarine conditions

The natural human female hormones oestrone and 17β-oestradiol have been implicated in the disruption of endocrine systems in some wildlife adjacent to sewage effluents. The sorption behaviour of these two compounds under estuarine conditions was studied by spiking either 2.55 μg of oestrone or 2.65 μg of 17β-oestradiol in kinetic experiments. In equilibrium experiments, 3 ng of oestrone or 3.2 ng of 17β-oestradiol was added in each of the centrifuge tubes. Sorption onto sediment particles was relatively slow, with sorption equilibrium being reached in about 70 and 170 h for oestrone and 17β-oestradiol, respectively. The effects of a variety of environmental parameters on sorption were studied including salinity, sediment concentration (SC), the presence of a third phase, particle size and, also, surfactant concentrations. Results show that although salinity did not induce any statistically significant effect on the sorption of 17β-oestradiol, it did statistically enhance the sorption of oestrone, and a salting constant of 0.3 l mol⁻¹ was derived. The partition coefficient for both compounds decreased with increasing sediment concentration, a phenomenon that has been widely reported and attributed to the presence of colloids (which could enhance dissolved concentrations). In this paper, the true partition coefficients for sediment particles (K_p^true) and colloidal particles (K_c^true) have been calculated, and a K_p^true value of 141 and 102 ml g⁻¹ was obtained for oestrone and 17β-oestradiol, respectively. In addition, K_c^true values for oestrone (222×10² ml g⁻¹) and 17β-oestradiol (135×10² ml g⁻¹) were two orders of magnitude higher than their respective K_p^true values, suggesting that the colloidal particles are significantly stronger sorbents for natural oestrogens than sediment particles. Particles of different sizes were found to have different partition coefficients due to the strong relationships between partition coefficients for the two compounds and particulate organic carbon (POC) contents and specific surface areas (SSAs). The presence of a surfactant was shown to reduce the partition coefficients for the two compounds, although its concentrations being used were higher than those normally found in the natural environment.     

中国对虾血细胞酶细胞化学的初步研究

运用电镜酶细胞化学技术 ,对中国对虾 (Penaeus chinensis)的血细胞和血清中的酚氧化酶、酸性磷酸酶、碱性磷酸酶和过氧化物酶的酶活性部位进行标记。实验结果显示 :酚氧化酶主要以酶原形式存在于大颗粒细胞的颗粒体中 ,酸性磷酸酶和碱性磷酸酶以酶原形式存在于小颗粒细胞的颗粒体中。健康虾和患病虾血细胞中酶活性的表现形式不尽相同 ,在病理情况下 ,颗粒细胞能以细胞解体的方式 ,排出细胞内的颗粒 ,转化成有活性的酶 ,以此提高血淋巴中这几种酶的活性。透明细胞可以吞噬排放颗粒后的颗粒细胞 ,透明细胞中由高尔基体合成的酸性磷酸酶等溶酶体酶主要用于透明细胞的细胞内消化作用。研究认为 :3种血细胞因含有不同的免疫酶以及酶的作用方式不同而具有不同的免疫功能     

动荷载作用下海底粉土的孔压响应及其动强度

本文选用近海分布较广的粉土为研究对象 ,利用室内动三轴试验结果 ,找出动荷载作用下粉土的动应力应变关系 ,分析模拟波浪荷载作用下粉土中的孔压响应、临界循环次数 ,确定波浪作用下粉土的应力状态、破坏临界循环次数 ,判断不同深度处的粉土发生液化的可能性及发生液化所需要的时间 ;研究粉土在动荷载作用下的强度降低 ,为海上工程设计和施工提供科学依据。     

对虾养殖生态系中有机碳的初步研究本研究由

对于围隔养殖对虾生态系中有机碳的变动进行了研究 ,结果表明 :溶解有机碳 (DOC)含量波动在 5 .2 99～ 13.39mg/ L之间 ,平均为 8.5 3mg/ L± 2 .2 5 mg/ L;颗粒有机碳 (POC)含量波动在0 .6 5～ 6 .6 3mg/ L之间 ,平均为 3.2 5 mg/ L± 1.76 mg/ L;总有机碳 (TOC)含量波动在 6 .92～ 2 0 .0 2mg/ L之间 ,平均为 11.78mg/ L± 3.82 mg/ L ;其中 DOC∶ POC∶ TOC为 0 .72∶ 0 .2 8∶ 1。各种有机碳组分的含量明显高于自然海水中各种有机碳的含量 ;各种有机碳组分的含量在养殖期间总体上呈上升的趋势 ;其变化与 DCOD的变化呈显著线性正相关的关系。     

Phytoremediation of small-scale oil spills in fresh marsh environments: a mesocosm simulation

Research was conducted to assess the impact of oiling on fresh-marsh plant communities and to test the efficacy of techniques that may be used to enhance the bioremediation of crude oil spills in these environments while minimizing secondary anthropogenic impacts. To emulate field conditions, a mesocosm facility was used that houses 120 mesocosm vessels, each of 200-1 capacity. A five-way factorial treatment arrangement was used that included two substrates (inorganic, organic), two nutrient regimes (fertilized, not fertilized), two aeration levels (substrate aeration, no aeration), three oiling concentrations (0-, 5-, 10-1 m(-2) of South Louisiana Sweet Crude oil), and four vascular plant species (Alternanthera philoxeroides, Panicum hemitomon, Phragmites australis, Sagittaria lancifolia, and an unplanted control). Under the 5- and 10-1 m(-2) oiling concentrations, S. lancifolia displayed a short-term response of increased productivity, whereas P. hemitomon had the highest biomass production and photosynthetic rates at the end of the 18-month experiment. Overall plant growth and productivity, as well as oil degradation, were significantly higher in the inorganic substrate, indicating that biodegradation of oil spills in organic substrates may require a longer time period. Time-released fertilizer also stimulated plant productivity and resulted in higher soil respiratory quotients, suggestive of greater microbial activity, particularly in aerated mesocosms. The amount of oil remaining after 18 months was lowest in aerated and fertilized mesocosms containing either P. hemitomon or S. lancifolia and a substrate of low organic matter content.     

Responses of CO2 in surface water in subtropical West Pacific to El Niño event

In order to investigate the relationships between the change of TCO2, △PCO2 and SST, current, upwelling and biological activities during El Nin(～)o event in the subtropical Pacific, the responses of TCO2 and △PCO2 in surface water in the subtropical Pacific during El Nin(～)o and La Nina have been simulated using a three-dimension carbon cycle model with biota pump. The results of numerical simulations show that TCO2 in sea water increases with reducing of SST during mature phase of El Nin(～)o in the subtropical West Pacific . At the same period , the Kuroshio in this region was weakened , the zonal currents were divergence , the upwelling carried the water with high concentrations of CO2 to the sea surface , so both of TCO2 and △PCO2 in surface water were increased . But TCO2 and △pCO2 were decreased during La Nina period. These simulated results confirmed the observations in 1982/1983 , 1986/1987 ,1991/1995 and 1997/1998 El Nin(～)o events .     

The influence of salinity on the solubility of Zn and Cd sulphides in the Scheldt estuary

In the estuary of the river Scheldt, where an oxygen gradient exists in addition to the salinity gradient, redox processes will be of major importance for trace metal mobilisation. In this study, the influence of salinity and pH on the redox processes of dissolved Zn and Cd sulphides is investigated together with the effects on the ratio of the dissolved Zn and Cd concentrations. The speciation of these metals is calculated with the chemical equilibrium programme +. Zn sulphides are oxidised at lower oxygen concentrations than Cd sulphides, due to lower stability constants, causing a sudden increase or peak in the dissolved Zn/Cd ratio. The formation of dissolved Cd chloride complexes when oxidation occurs at high salinities (S=15) increases the mobility of Cd, causing a decrease in the Zn/Cd peak of the total dissolved concentrations. The peak is three to four times smaller at S=15 than when oxidation occurs at S=2. The simple model calculations compare very well with field data. The Scheldt estuary is suitable to illustrate these calculations. In the 1970s, the anoxic part of the estuary reached S=15–20, but since the early 1980s it has dropped to S=2–10. Historic data on metals in the estuary from 1978, 1987 and the 1990s were used to compare with the equilibrium calculations. The increase of the dissolved Zn/Cd peak at low salinity as a consequence, of the decreasing anoxic region is confirmed well by the data. The good agreement between model calculations and field data is a proof of the extreme importance of redox processes for the solubility of Zn and Cd sulphides in the estuary.     

Wintertime nutrients in the North Atlantic—new approaches and implications for new production estimates

Observations of wintertime nutrient concentrations in surface waters are scarce in the temperate and subarctic North Atlantic Ocean. Three new methods of their estimation from spring or early summer observations are described and evaluated. The methods make use of a priori knowledge of the vertical distribution of oxygen saturation and empirical relationships between nutrient concentrations and oxygen saturation. A south–north increase in surface water winter nutrient concentration is observed. Winter nitrate concentrations range from very low levels of about 0.5 μmol dm⁻³ at 33°N to about 13.5 μmol dm⁻³ at 60°N. Previous estimates of winter nitrate concentrations have been overestimates by up to 50%. At the Biotrans Site (47°N, 20°W), a typical station in the temperate Northeast Atlantic, a mean winter nitrate concentration of 8 μmol dm⁻³ is estimated, compared to recently published values between 11 and 12.5 μmol dm⁻³. It is shown that most of the difference is due to a contribution of remineralised nitrate that had not been recognized in previous winter nutrient estimates. Mesoscale variation of wintertime nitrate concentrations at Biotrans are moderate (less than ±15% of the regional mean value of about 8 μmol dm⁻³). Interannual variation of the regional mean is small, too. In the available dataset, there was only 1 year with a significantly lower regional mean winter nitrate concentration (7 μmol dm⁻³), presumably due to restricted deep mixing during an atypically warm winter. The significance of winter nitrate estimates for the assessment of spring-bloom new production and the interpretation of bloom dynamics is evaluated. Applying estimates of wintertime nitrate concentrations of this study, it is found that pre-bloom new production (0.275 mol N m⁻²) at Biotrans almost equals spring-bloom new production (0.3 mol N m⁻²). Using previous estimates of wintertime nitrate yields unrealistically high estimates of pre-bloom new production (1.21–1.79 mol N m⁻²) which are inconsistent with observed levels of primary production and the seasonal development of biomass.     

Nitrogen forms and decomposition of organic carbon in the southern Bohai Sea core sediments

Study on form characteristics of nitrogen in marine sediments is the primary method to research its biogeochemical cycling and nitrogen form characteristics in core sediments can reflect the process and results of early diagenesis in a certain degree. In this paper, Sequential extraction process in natural grain size was used for studying the existent forms of nitrogen in five core sediments of the southern Bohai Sea for the first time. Nitrogen was divided into two parts -transferable and fixed based on whether it could be extracted by the reagent. Distributions and early diagenesis of transferable nitrogen forms in the southern Bohai Sea were researched integratedly. Results indicate that IEF - N and OSF-N are predominant forms in transferable part in the studied core sediments. Contents of different nitrogen forms vary differently with depth, and have different diagenesis process. Decomposition constant of organic nitrogen (ON) and OC are about 15.51 × 10~(-3)a~(-1)and 4.79× 10~(-3)a~(-1) respective