Phyllocladane in brown coal from Handlová, Slovakia: Isolation and structural characterization

Aliphatic diterpenes were isolated from brown coal from Handlová, Slovakia, using microwave assisted extraction of mechanically activated coal powder. The parameters of the extraction procedure were optimized to get the target compounds in high yield. The total extract was separated using adsorption chromatography. GC–MS revealed tetracyclic and tricyclic diterpanes in the aliphatic fraction; they were identified as 16α(H)-phyllocladane (83%), isopimarane (11%), 18-norisopimarane (4%), abietane (2%) and fichtelite (<0.1%). It was found that more than 2 g of the most abundant diterpane, 16α(H)-phyllocladane could be extracted from 1 kg of Handlová coal. Because of the scarcity of relevant analytical data, 16α(H)-phyllocladane was thoroughly characterized by spectroscopic and chromatographic methods. A complete set of ¹H and ¹³C NMR data is given including their comparison with published values and ab initio calculations. EI mass and IR spectra of 16α(H)-phyllocladane are shown and discussed. Kováts retention indices measured on two common GC stationary phases are also given.     

Preliminary health risk assessment for polybrominated diphenyl ethers and polybrominated dibenzo-p-dioxins/furans in seafood from Guangzhou and Zhoushan, China

Dietary intake is one of the important routes of human exposure to brominated flame retardants (BFRs) such as polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). The use of PBDEs may also result in exposure to polybrominated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PBDDs/DFs), as these compounds are impurities in technical mixtures of BFRs and can also be formed unintentionally by the same processes that generate chlorinated dioxins. This study determined the concentrations of polybrominated compounds in common seafood in Guangzhou and Zhoushan, and assessed the health risks of these chemicals via consumption of contaminated seafood. Seafood samples (fish, bivalves, shrimp, crab, and cephalopods) purchased from local markets in 2003 and 2004 were analyzed for PBDEs and PBDDs/DFs. The highest concentration of total PBDEs (46.3 ng g(-1) lipid wt.) was detected in fish from Guangzhou, in which BDEs 47 and 209 were the two predominant congeners. The total daily intakes of PBDEs, PBDDs, and PBDFs were, 946, 6.39, and 6.54 pg kg(-1) body weight (bw) in Guangzhou, and 489, 4.99, and 7.65 pg kg(-1) bw in Zhoushan, respectively. The hazard ratios for PBDDs and PBDFs were both greater than unity, indicating that these compounds may pose some health risks to the local population.     

Effects of Resolution,Cumulus Parameterization Scheme,and Probability Forecasting on Precipitation Forecasts in a High-Resolution Limited-Area Ensemble Prediction System

This study investigates the effects of horizontal resolution, cumulus parameterization scheme (CPS), and probability forecasting on precipitation forecasts over the Korean Peninsula from 00 UTC 15 August to 12 UTC 14 September 2013, using the limited-area ensemble prediction system (LEPS) of the Korea Meteorological Administration. To investigate the effect of resolution, the control members of the LEPS with 1.5- and 3-km resolution were compared. Two 3-km experiments with and without the CPS were conducted for the control member, because a 3-km resolution lies within the gray zone. For probability forecasting, 12 ensemble members with 3-km resolution were run using the LEPS. The forecast performance was evaluated for both the whole study period and precipitation cases categorized by synoptic forcing. The performance of precipitation forecasts using the 1.5-km resolution was better than that using the 3-km resolution for both the total period and individual cases. The result of the 3-km resolution experiment with the CPS did not differ significantly from that without it. The 3-km ensemble mean and probability matching (PM) performed better than the 3-km control member, regardless of the use of the CPS. The PM complemented the defect of the ensemble mean, which better predicts precipitation regions but underestimates precipitation amount by averaging ensembles, compared to the control member. Further, both the 3-km ensemble mean and PM outperformed the 1.5-km control member, which implies that the lower performance of the 3-km control member compared to the 1.5-km control member was complemented by probability forecasting.     

Source and remediation for heavy metals of soils at an iron mine of Ulsan City,Korea

Ulsan mine produced the iron ore minerals of magnetite, arsenopyrite, and scheelite in 1992, and serpentine was developed from 1977 to 2002. The soils of the mine were contaminated by heavy metals such as As, Zn, Ni, and Cd. Heavy metals of Ni and Zn came mostly from serpentinite, and As was derived mainly from arsenopyrite in the scan-type iron ore body. As, Zn, and Ni were major contaminants, but Cd was a minor contaminant on a basis of Korean standard. The heavy metals in the deep depth (>?5 m) came from the host rocks, and those in the shallow depth (<?5 m) were derived from the organic–mineral complexation soil. The remediation plan was a soil washing for highly contaminated soils and the containment of clay materials for less contaminated soils. Even though the remediation methods were successful, the continuous monitoring and the analysis of monitoring data are still necessary for the conservation of soil and groundwater around the study area.     

Effects of climate change on the thermal structure of lakes in the Asian Monsoon Area

This research investigates the effect of climate change on the thermal structure of lakes in response to watershed hydrology. We applied a hydrodynamic water quality model coupled to a hydrological model with a future climate scenario projected by a GCM A2 emission scenario to the Yongdam Reservoir, South Korea. In the climate change scenario, the temperature will increase by 2.1°C and 4.2°C and the precipitation will increase by 178.4?mm and 464.4?mm by the 2050 and 2090, respectively, based on 2010. The pattern changes of precipitation and temperature increase due to climate change modify the hydrology of the watershed. The hydrological model results indicate that they increase both surface runoff itself and temperature. The reservoir model simulation with the hydrological model results showed that increasing air temperature is related to higher surface water temperature. Surface water temperature is expected to increase by about 1.2°C and 2.2°C from the 2050 and 2090, respectively, based on the 2010 results. The simulation results of the effects of climate warming on the thermal structure of the Asian Monsoon Area Lake showed consistent results with those of previous studies in terms of greater temperature increases in the epilimnion than in the hypolimnion, increased thermal stratification, and decreasing thermocline depths during the summer and fall. From this study, it was concluded that the hydrodynamic water quality model coupled to the hydrological model could successfully simulate the variability of the epilimnetic temperature, changed depth and magnitude of the thermocline and the changed duration of summer stratification.     

Antibiotics in the Hong Kong metropolitan area: Ubiquitous distribution and fate in Victoria Harbour

We investigated the presence and fate of 16 antibiotics belonging to seven groups (β-lactams, fluoroquinolones, macrolides, sulfonamides, tetracyclines, trimethoprim and amphenicols) in effluents of sewage plants and receiving waters in Hong Kong. Cefalexin, amoxicillin, ofloxacin and erythromycin-H₂O were ubiquitous in sea water throughout Victoria Harbour, indicating continuous discharge to the environment. This is one of the few studies reporting the frequent occurrence of cefalexin and amoxicillin in sewage effluents and sea water (170-5070 and 64-1670 ng/L in sewage; 6.1-493 and 0.64-76 ng/L in sea water, respectively). Mass flows from seven sewage plants discharged an estimated total of 14.4 kg/day to the Harbour. Typhoon shelters also appeared to play an important role as sources of antibiotics, as evidenced by elevated concentrations within their boundaries. Mass balance estimations suggested significant quantities of antibiotics are discharged to the Harbour without passage through treatment plants.     

Seasonal variation in the community and size structure of nano- and microzooplankton in Gyeonggi Bay,Yellow Sea

To investigate the seasonal variation and community structure of nano- and microzooplankton in Gyeonggi Bay of the Yellow Sea, the abundance and carbon biomass of nano- and microzooplankton were evaluated at 10-day intervals from January 1997 to December 1999. Four major groups of nano- and microzooplankton communities were classified: heterotrophic ciliates, heterotrophic dinoflagellates (HDF), heterotrophic nanoflagellates (HNF), and copepod nauplii. The total carbon biomass of nano- and microzooplankton ranged from 10.2 to 168.8 μg C L⁻¹ and was highest during or after phytoplankton blooms. Nano- and microzooplankton communities were composed of heterotrophic ciliates (7.4–81.4%; average 41.7% of total biomass), HDF (0.1–70.3%; average 26.1% of total biomass), copepod nauplii (1.6–70.6%; average 20.7% of total biomass), and HNF (0.8–59.5%; average 11.5% of total biomass). The relative contribution of individual components in the nano- and microzooplankton communities appeared to differ by seasons. Ciliates accounted for the most major component of nano- and microzooplankton communities, except during summer and phytoplankton blooming seasons, whereas HDF were more dominant during the phytoplankton blooming seasons. The abundance and biomass of nano- and microzooplankton generally followed the seasonal dynamics of phytoplankton. The size and community distribution of nano- and microzooplankton was positively correlated with size-fractionated phytoplankton. The carbon requirement of microzooplankton ranged from 60 to 83% of daily primary production, and was relatively high when phytoplankton biomass was high. Therefore, our result suggests that the seasonal variation in the community and size composition of nano- and microzooplankton appears to be primarily governed by phytoplankton size and concentration as a food source, and their abundance may greatly affect trophic dynamics by controlling the seasonal abundance of phytoplankton.     

Wave-tide-surge coupled model simulation for Typhoon Maemi

1 IntroductionThe main reason for coupling the tide and surgehydrodynamic model with a surface wave model canbe found in the physical interactions taking place inthe surface and bottom boundary layers. During thesevere storm conditions such interactions a…     

Determination of plastic regions around underground openings by a coupled boundary-element-characteristics method

A two-dimensional hybrid method for solving elastoplastic problems in engineering is presented by coupling two existing methods, namely, the boundary element method and the characteristics method. The formulation of this method is presented, as well as an excellent procedure for the determination of the boundary between elastic and plastic regions. It is shown not only that this method is a powerful and accurate method for evaluating the shape and extent of the plastic region around rock caverns, which is of prime importance for the construction of rock caverns, but also applicable to a given range of the initial stress field ratio where only compressive failure occurs. Then, some typical examples are solved in order to check the accuracy of the solution by this method. Furthermore, its successful applications are presented and discussed to determine the shape and the extent of the plastic regions around parallel, circular and rectangular openings.     

Internal wave dispersions in density-stratified deep oceans with a thermocline

As to two typical Väisälä frequency profiles in deep oceans, one in the Arctic Ocean and one in the Atlantic, the approximate analytical method ofHyun (1976) is used to calculate internal wave dispersion relations. The method is shown to have good agreement with the matrix numerical method. By making calculations for an exemplary Väisälä frequency profile with a thermocline, an assessment is made of the inaccuracies in the dispersion curves obtained by the ordinary WKB method which does not take into account the turning point singularities.