A polysaccharide-degrading marine bacterium Flammeovirga sp. MY04 and its extracellular agarase system

Bacteria of the genus Flammeovirga can digest complex polysaccharides (CPs), but no details have been reported regarding the CP depolymerases of these bacteria. MY04, an agarolytic marine bacterium isolated from coastal sediments, has been identified as a new member of the genus Flammeovirga. The MY04 strain is able to utilize multiple CPs as a sole carbon source and grows well on agarose, mannan, or xylan. This strain produces high concentrations of extracellular proteins (490 mg L-1 ± 18.2 mg L-1 liquid culture) that exhibit efficient and extensive degradation activities on various polysaccharides, especially agarose. These proteins have an activity of 310 U mg-1 ± 9.6 U mg-1 proteins. The extracellular agarase system (EAS) in the crude extracellular enzymes contains at least four agarose depolymerases, which are with molecular masses of approximately 30-70 kDa. The EAS is stable at a wide range of pH values (6.0-11.0), temperatures (0-50℃), and sodium chloride (NaCl) concentrations (0- 0.9 mol L-1). Two major degradation products generated from agarose by the EAS are identified to be neoagarotetraose and neoagarohexaose, suggesting that β-agarases are the major constituents of the MY04 EAS. These results suggest that the Flammeovirga strain MY04 and its polysac-charide-degradation system hold great promise in industrial applications.     

OH-initiated degradation of several hydrocarbons in the atmosphere simulation chamber SAPHIR

Degradation of isoprene, m-xylene, n-octane, propene, and methacrolein by hydroxyl radicals has been studied in the simulation chamber SAPHIR under burden of trace gases as they are typical for the moderately polluted planetary boundary layer. Measured time series of the hydrocarbon mixing ratios and the OH concentrations were used to determine the rate constants. The hydrocarbons were measured with gas chromatography and proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry. OH was measured with the Jülich DOAS (differential optical absorption spectroscopy) instrument. In all cases except methacrolein good agreement was found with the reference rate constants taken from the Master Chemical Mechanism (MCM3.1). The data for methacrolein are consistent with the results of Karl et al. (J. Atmos. Chem 55, 2006, doi:) who reported a 12% smaller value. The degradation of hydrocarbons provides an independent method to analyse precision and accuracy of the OH measurements. A precision of better than 4% over a period of nearly 4 months was found. The accuracy is within the limitations given by the light absorption cross section of OH. Both results are consistent with earlier results by Hausmann et al. (J. Geophys. Res. 102:16011–16022, 1997).     

黄河源区水环境变化及其生态环境地质效应

为揭示黄河源区生态环境恶化的地质原因,本文依据野外调查资料,通过综合分析,认为水环境变异是源区生态环境恶化的主要原因,人类工程经济活动为次要原因.提出的"控制水文网下蚀,提高侵蚀基准面,遏制冻结层上水水位下降,恢复湿地、植被"的生态地质环境治理及保护措施具一定的应用价值.     

铁及超声辅助铁还原降解水中氯乙酸及其动力学研究

以二氯乙酸(DCAA)和三氯乙酸(TCAA)为目标污染物,研究了铁(Fe0)和超声辅助铁(US-Fe0)还原降解水溶液中氯乙酸,以及溶液初始pH值、Fe0投加量、反应温度、反应时间、氯乙酸初始浓度对降解率的影响,并对降解的动力学进行了初步研究。结果表明,Fe0还原氯乙酸的最佳条件是:pH值为4.0、铁投加量为4g·L-1,室温条件下反应16h。超声辅助对Fe0还原水中氯乙酸的反应具有显著促进作用。在初始浓度为50μg·L-1时,US-Fe0还原降解DCAA和TCAA的降解率分别为87.3%和82.0%。Fe0和US-Fe0还原降解氯乙酸均符合准一级反应动力学(对氯乙酸),降解的表观速率常数分别为1.03×10-3 s-1(Fe0还原DCAA)、5.70×10-3 s-1(US-Fe0还原DCAA)和5.63×10-4 s-1(Fe0还原TCAA)、2.58×10-3 s-1(US-Fe0还原TCAA)。TCAA脱氯生成DCAA是降解的速率控制步骤。     

黄河源生态环境变化与成因分析

以７０年代、８０年代和９０年代３个时期的卫星影像资料为基础,结合野外调查,对７０年代以来黄河源区生态环境演变过程及趋势进行了对比分析,并依据时期的气候变化、人为活动强度分析,对该区域生态环境变化的产生原因进行探讨,研究结果表明,与７０年代相比,８０年代和９０年代以高寒沼泽草甸、高寒草罗和高山草原化草甸为代表的主要生态体系均呈明显退化,尤其９０年代中期以来,高寒草原与高寒草甸植被退化剧烈,荒漠化发展     

Slope instability mechanisms in dipping conglomerates over weathered marls: Bol landslide,Croatia

In February 2005, a landslide of significant dimensions occurred at Bol on the Island of Brač, in Croatia. The location of the landslide was in a geological structure of weakly bounded conglomerates lying above a flysch, in an area where numerous slides have been previously reported. In the paper the results of a geological engineering investigation of the Bol landslide are presented. The investigation results show that the landslide was triggered by a combination of improperly started earthworks, an increase in air temperature in days preceding landslide that caused snow melt, and abundant rainfall, but the primary cause of the landslide was weathering of the flysch. In other words, despite the fact that contact between the flysch and the conglomerates slopes is in approximate correspondence with the slope of the hillside, the landslide surface was not in contact between the conglomerates and marl, but deeper in the flysch, provoked by the penetration of the weathering front into the flysch. Numerical modelling results were able to reproduce this mechanism by incorporating strength degradation into the weathered zone, determined by field investigation. The results of the research can be used to predict potential slides not only in the area under study.     

An integrated remote sensing and GIS approach for monitoring areas affected by selective logging: A case study in northern Mato Grosso,Brazilian Amazon

Forest cover disturbances due to processes such as logging and forest fires are a widespread issue especially in the tropics, and have heavily affected forest biomass and functioning in the Brazilian Amazon in the past decades. Satellite remote sensing has played a key role for assessing logging activities in this region; however, there are still remaining challenges regarding the quantification and monitoring of these processes affecting forested lands. In this study, we propose a new method for monitoring areas affected by selective logging in one of the hotspots of Mato Grosso state in the Brazilian Amazon, based on a combination of object-based and pixel-based classification approaches applied on remote sensing data. Logging intensity and changes over time are assessed within grid cells of 300 m × 300 m spatial resolution. Our method encompassed three main steps: (1) mapping forest/non-forest areas through an object-based classification approach applied to a temporal series of Landsat images during the period 2000–2015, (2) mapping yearly logging activities from soil fraction images on the same Landsat data series, and (3) integrating information from previous steps within a regular grid-cell of 300 m × 300 m in order to monitor disturbance intensities over this 15-years period. The overall accuracy of the baseline forest/non-forest mask (year 2000) and of the undisturbed vs disturbed forest (for selected years) were 93% and 84% respectively. Our results indicate that annual forest disturbance rates, mainly due to logging activities, were higher than annual deforestation rates during the whole period of study. The deforested areas correspond to circa 25% of the areas affected by forest disturbances. Deforestation rates were highest from 2001 to 2005 and then decreased considerably after 2006. In contrast, the annual forest disturbance rates show high temporal variability with a slow decrease over the 15-year period, resulting in a significant increase of the ratio between disturbed and deforested areas. Although the majority of the areas, which have been affected by selective logging during the period 2000–2014, were not deforested by 2015, more than 70% of the deforested areas in 2015 had been at least once identified as disturbed forest during that period.     

岩溶水体惰性有机碳含量及其存在机理

正通常认为全球超过1000 m的海洋深处稳定存在着不超过42μmol/L的溶解有机碳,并被认为是微生物难以利用的惰性溶解有机碳[1-2]。这为进一步评估水圈溶解有机碳的稳定性提供了研究依据[3]。河流不但是陆地水的主体、水圈的重要组成部分,而且还是海洋-陆地物质和能量交换的主要通道。近年来,河流的自然性质和作用过程不断受到人文活动的影响,特别是河流筑坝引发的"水库效应"[4-5]。然而"水库效应"下岩溶区筑坝河流中     

Response of low flows under climate warming in high‐altitude permafrost regions in western China

The increase in low flows (winter discharge and minimum monthly discharge), caused primarily by permafrost degradation, is common in high‐latitude permafrost regions, whereas the dynamics of low flows in high‐altitude permafrost regions remain largely unknown. Long‐term discharge data from 28 unregulated catchments in western China were analysed, and the findings showed that winter discharge/minimum monthly discharge significantly increased (p ≤ 0.1) in 82/82%, 55/64%, and 0/0% of the catchments in the higher‐latitude mountain permafrost regions (Tienshan Mountains), mid‐latitude mountain permafrost regions (Qilian Mountains), and mid‐ to low‐latitude plateau permafrost regions (the source regions of the Yangtze and Yellow rivers), respectively. The differences in permafrost type and the distribution of permafrost and alpine cold desert (which is similar to tundra) were found to be the main causes for the different responses in the low flows. The rate of change of low flows (winter discharge and minimum monthly discharge) was negatively and linearly correlated with permafrost coverage when coverage was less than 40% of the catchment area, whereas the low flows changed only slightly when the permafrost coverage exceeded 40%. A significant thickening of the active layer increased the low flows in the lower permafrost‐covered catchments, which are dominated by warm permafrost. However, in the higher permafrost‐covered catchments with cold permafrost and a cold climate, only an increase in permafrost temperature (without a notable thickening of the active layer) occurred, resulting in non‐significant changes in low flows.     

Towards sustainable development of the environmentally degraded River Heihe basin,China

Abstract

Changes in development and use of water resources over the last 30 years have led to significant environmental and hydrological degradation of the River Heihe basin in the People's Republic of China. Water discharge of the lower reaches has been seriously compromised and more than 30 tributaries and terminal lakes have dried up. The water output of springs has dropped significantly. Also water quality problems have been observed, in both surface waters and groundwater. Hydrological changes have resulted in a marked degradation of aquatic habitats, and have caused substantial, and expanding, land salinization and desertification. Solving these problems, which have been largely caused by human activities, requires massive and long-lasting concerted efforts.