SWASV speciation of Cd, Pb and Cu for the determination of seawater contamination in the area of the Nicole shipwreck (Ancona coast, Central Adriatic Sea)

The study reports for the first time on the heavy metal contamination of the waters surrounding a shipwreck lying on the sea floor. Square wave anodic stripping voltammetry has been used for a survey of the total and dissolved Cd, Pb and Cu contents of the seawater at the site of the sinking of the Nicole M/V (Coastal Adriatic Sea, Italy). Results show that the hulk has a considerable impact as regards all three metals in the bottom water, especially for the particulate fraction concentrations, which increased by factors of ∼9 (Cd), ∼3 (Pb) and ∼5 (Cu). The contaminated plume extended downstream for about 2 miles. Much lower contamination was observed for dissolved bottom concentrations; nevertheless Pb (0.56 ± 0.03 nmol/L) is higher than the Italian legal limits established for 2015 and Cd (0.23 ± 0.03 nmol/L) is very close the limit of Cd will be exceeded if the hulk is not removed.     

Metal enrichment in beach sediments from Chennai Metropolis, SE coast of India

A survey on the Partially Extracted Trace Metals (PETMs) concentration (Fe, Mn, Cr, Cu, Ni, Co, Pb, Zn, Cd) in beach sediments is reported for the first time from 57 different locations in Chennai Metropolitan City of Southeast coast of India. The concentration of PETMs suggests that they are mainly concentrated with organic matter in the crowded part of the industrial regions in the beaches from the northern part rather than the tourist beaches in the southern part of the city. The comparison on enrichment of trace metals indicates higher values of Pb, Ni in the beaches than lowest effect level (LEL) and effects range low (ERL) than the tourist beaches.     

A study on the mixing proportion in groundwater samples by using Piper diagram and Phreeqc model

Piper (1944) diagram has been the basis for several important interpretations of the hydrogeochemical data. As seen in this diagram, most natural waters contain relatively few dissolved constituents, with cations (metals or bases) and anions (acid radicles) in chemical equilibrium with one another. Apart from the facies representation, the composition of the mixed sample can be identified in terms of the composition of the parental solution. To bring out this advantage of the Piper diagram, a study was conducted in the Kalpakkam region of Tamilnadu, South India. By taking the geology and water table into consideration, two sample locations were selected as parent solution and third one as the mixture sample. All three samples were analyzed for calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), sodium (Na), potassium (K), chloride (Cl), sulphate (SO4) and phosphate (PO4) by Ion Chromatograph (Metrohm IC 861). HCO3 was determined by volumetric titration. The Piper diagram shows that parent solutions clustered towards Na-Mg-Ca-HCO3-Cl and Na-HCO3 facies, and the mixing sample belongs to Na-Mg-HCO3 facies. Phreeqc interac-tive (Ver 2.8) along with the original composition of the mixture sample was used to correlate the mixing proportion identified by the Piper diagram.     

Tectonomagmatic origin of some volcanic and sub-volcanic rocks from the Lower Benue rift, Nigeria

Petrological and geochemical studies on some volcanic and sub-volcanic rocks from the Lower Benue rift indicate that they are basalts, basaltic and doleritic sills, trachybasalt and trachyte which generally belong to the alkali basalt series. The alkaline affinity is clearly evident in both their normative and modal mineral compositions, as well as their chemical compositions. The generally high fractionation indices [(La/Yb)N] are 7.06 to 17.65 for the basaltic rocks and 23.59 to 135. 35 for the trachytic ...     

Assessing food web dynamics and relative importance of organic matter sources for fish species in two Portuguese estuaries: a stable isotope approach

Stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes (δ13C, δ1?N) were used to analyse food web dynamics of two of the main estuaries of the Portuguese coast: Tejo and Mira. The ultimate sources of organic matter supporting production of some of the most abundant and commercially important fish species were determined; and seasonal, inter- and intra- estuarine differences in the trophic relations among producers and consumers were identified. Stable isotope analysis was performed in different producers, primary consumers (main prey items for fish) and fish species (Solea solea, Solea senegalensis, Pomatoschistus microps, Dicentrarchus labrax, Liza ramada, Diplodus vulgaris and Atherina presbyter) of two areas in each estuary, in July and October 2009. Model calculations showed that the main prey for the fish species in the Tejo estuary used mostly salt marsh-derived organic matter as nutritional sources, with no marked differences between the sampled months. Trophic levels of fish species from the same estuary differed at multiple scales: inter-species, seasonally and spatially (both between and within estuaries). Significant differences in isotopic composition of fish species were more pronounced spatially (between the two sampled areas in the estuary) than seasonally (between sampled months). Trophic relationships in both estuaries demonstrated that organic matter is transferred to higher trophic positions mainly through benthic pathways. This shows the flexibility of these species to share resources and to exploit temporary peaks in prey populations. The present results showed that extensive disturbance in intertidal habitats from both estuaries may potentially change the balance of organic matter in the base of these complex food webs.     

Sediment-related distribution patterns of nematodes and macrofauna: two sides of the benthic coin?

We investigated the sediment-related distribution of both nematodes and macrofauna on the Belgian part of the North Sea (Southern Bight of the North Sea) in order to evaluate whether both faunal groups reflect similar patterns in community composition and diversity. Fine-grained sediments (median grain size <200μm) were inhabited by nematode communities characterised by a low diversity and dominated by non-selective deposit-feeding nematodes. Nematode communities from coarser sediments were significantly different in terms of community composition and diversity. Moreover, all nematode feeding types were present in coarser sediments. These differences were explained by the contrasting biogeochemical processes prevailing in both sediment types, rather than granulometry and food availability per se. Macrofaunal distribution patterns were different from those of the nematode communities and seem to be related to water column processes (SPM loading, food availability, hydrodynamic stress) that promote the establishment of diverse communities in the coarser sediments but not in the finest sediments. This suggests that data on nematodes and macrofauna reveal different, complementary aspects of the factors structuring the benthic ecosystem that can be of importance in assessing the ecological status of the seafloor.     

Ground-Based In Situ Measurements of Near-Surface Aerosol Mass Concentration over Anantapur: Heterogeneity in Source Impacts

Surface measurements of aerosol physical properties were made at Anantapur(14.62°N,77.65 °E,331 m a.s.l),a semiarid rural site in India,during August 2008-July 2009.Measurements included the segregated sizes of aerosolsas as well as total mass concentration and size distributions of aerosols measured at low relative humidity(RH<75%) using a Quartz Crystal Microbalance(QCM) in the 25-0.05 μm aerodynamic diameter range.The hourly average total surface aerosol mass concentration in a day varied from 15 to 70 μg m-3,with a mean value of 34.02±9.05μgm-3 for the entire study period.A clear diurnal pattern appeared in coarse,accumulation and nucleation-mode particle concentrations,with two local maxima occurring in early morning and late evening hours.The concentration of coarse-mode particles was high during the summer season,with a maximum concentration of 11.81±0.98μgm-3 in the month of April,whereas accumulationmode concentration was observed to be high in the winter period contributed >68% to the total aerosol mass concentration.Accumulation aerosol mass fraction,A f(=Ma/Mt) was highest during winter(mean value of Af～0.80) and lowest(Af～0.64) during the monsoon season.The regression analysis shows that both R eff and R m are dependent on coarse-mode aerosols.The relationship between the simultaneous measurements of daily mean aerosol optical depth at 500 nm(AOD500) and PM 2.5 mass concentration([PM2.5]) shows that surface-level aerosol mass concentration increases with the increase in columnar aerosol optical depth over the observation period.     

Inhibition of fish nodavirus by gymnemagenol extracted from Gymnema sylvestre

Viral nervous necrosis(VNN)has emerged to become a major problem in the culture of larval and juvenile marine fish worldwide.Bioactive phytochemicals isolated from commonly available medicinal plants are often screened for their efficacy in controlling fish viral diseases.Occurrence of newer viral strains and resistance to existing antiviral drugs are problems currently as-sociated with treatment of VNN,which necessitates looking for alternate sources for effective antiviral drugs.The aim of the present study was to screen antiviral potential of gymnemagenol(C30H50O4)previously extracted from leaves of Gymnema sylvestre.The fish nodavirus,grouper nervous necrosis virus(GNNV)in infected Sahul Indian Grouper Eye(SIGE)cell lines were used to study the antiviral activity of gymnemagenol under in vitro conditions.The susceptibility of the virus to gymnemagenol was confirmed by measuring the viral titre(TCID50 mL?1)in virus-infected SIGE cells every 24 h.Gymnemagenol at 20 μg mL?1 inhibited the prolifera-tion of GNNV to 53% at the end of the 6th d by inhibiting the proliferation of GNNV-infected SIGE cells.The viable SIGE cells were reduced to 47% as determined by 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide(MTT)assay.The viral titre(TCID50 mL?1)was also reduced to log 2.8 at the end of the 7th d in gymnemagenol-treated SIGE cells after inoculated with GNNV when compared to untreated control SIGE cell viral titre(log 4.1).Based on our results it can be concluded that gymnemagenol could be used as an antiviral agent against GNNV infection.