Amino acid biogeochemistry and bacterial contribution to sediment organic matter along the western margin of the Bay of Bengal

Six sediment cores collected from various water depths and sampling locations along the western margin of the Bay of Bengal (BOB) were investigated for the total hydrolysable amino acids (THAA) and d-amino acids (d-AA) to understand their distribution, digenetic alteration and bacterial contribution to organic matter (OM). Irrespective of their location, THAA concentrations and yields generally decreased and mol% glycine increased with increasing water depth indicating that OM was degraded during its transit through the water column. Amino acid based degradation index (DI) indicated that OM of the surface sediments of shallow stations, BOB-1 to BOB-3 was relatively fresher than that of deeper stations, BOB-4, BOB-5 and BOB-6. The concentrations and mol% of the d-AA varied from 0.04 to 0.76 µmol gdw⁻¹ and 0.3 to 8.5 mol%, respectively. Contribution of bacterial peptidoglycan amino acids to THAA (% THAA_pep/THAA) ranged between 4.0% and 55.0%. Both % THAA_pep/THAA and mol% d-AAs were significantly (p<0.01) higher in the surface sediments and decreased with sediment core depth. Based on the d-AA yields, bacterial OM accounted for 1.5–15.6% of TOC, and 3.7–50.0% of TN of the sediments of BOB.     

基于MODIS数据的内蒙古草地植被退化动态监测研究

以内蒙古自治区为研究区,利用卫星遥感、GIS和GPS技术,在实地调查和样方测定的基础上,选用群种自然生殖枝高度、草地植被覆盖度和草地生物量3个评价指标,并将其加权综合得到草地植被退化指数(GDI).将GDI与提取的各种植被指数进行相关分析,选出最能反映草地退化趋势且与植被退化指数线性拟合最好的植被指数--修正的土壤调节植被指数(MSAVI).采用线性回归方法建立草地植被退化的遥感监测模型,分析了研究区2002年~2006年草地植被退化的时空分布规律和变化趋势.研究表明,与2002年相比,2006年内蒙古地区草地植被退化状况呈现整体改善、局部恶化的情况.     

藏北地区草地退化空间特征及其趋势分析

根据草地退化国家标准和藏北地区草地退化实际情况,结合藏北地区1981—2004年多年遥感监测数据以及其它相关数据,采用遥感手段和GIS技术,分析藏北地区草地退化与坡向、坡度和海拔高度之间的关系;并计算藏北地区草地退化趋势系数,对该地区草地退化空间特征的趋势进行了分析。结果表明：在藏北地区,草地退化主要发生在平地（坡度小于1°）草地,平地的草地退化趋势比坡地显著,阳坡的草地退化指数（GDI）大于阴坡。在草地面积最大的4 500～5 250 m的海拔高度范围内,草地退化明显,草地退化趋势也显著。      

Gully erosion processes,disciplinary fragmentation,and technological innovation

The development and evolution of gullies on soil-mantled hillslopes can devastate agricultural regions and cause widespread soil and landscape degradation. Since 2000, international symposia have been organized to address gully erosion processes, and this paper and special issue provide additional context for the 7th International Symposium on Gully Erosion held at Purdue University in 2016. Several important themes of gully erosion emerged during this symposium that warranted additional discussion here. These topics include the importance and impact of technology transfer, disciplinary fragmentation as an impediment for research advancement, the difficulty in defining the erodibility of sediment within gullies, and the opportunities afforded by remote sensing technology. It is envisioned that such symposia will continue to enhance the capabilities of researchers and practitioners to monitor, model, and manage these important geomorphic processes and to mitigate landscape degradation. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evaluating the influences of harvesting activity and eutrophication on loss of aquatic vegetations in Taihu Lake,China

A rapid degradation of aquatic vegetations in Taihu Lake has roused a wide attention in recent years. Giving large-scale harvesting activity on aquatic vegetation since 2012, whether water eutrophication or the human harvest activity induced the degradation remains controversial and unclear. In this study, based on Landsat and HJ-CCD data acquired from 1984 to 2016 and a 12-year field observation (2005–2016) of water quality, a method was proposed to quantitatively assess impacts of harvesting activity and water quality change on degradations of both floating-leaved aquatic vegetation (FAV) and submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) in Taihu Lake. First, areas of FAV and SAV covers from 1984 to 2016 in Taihu Lake were mapped using the satellite data, and then the mapped areas were modified to those on a reference date by using phenological curves of FAV and SAV covers. Next, correlations between water quality data and FAV and SAV covers were analyzed by using Pearson correlation analysis based on the data before implementing the human harvesting activity (i.e., before 2012), and multiple general linear models were established based on the selected water quality variables with p-value <0.01 for estimating covers of FAV and SAV from 2012 to 2016. Finally, based on the predicted areas of FAV and SAV covers by the models and the modified areas mapped from satellite data, the influences of water eutrophication and the human harvesting activity on the degradation of FAV and SAV covers were quantitatively assessed. The results indicated that (1) FAV cover exhibited a significant increase from 1984 to 2011 and then a rapid decrease, while SAV cover increased significantly before 2003 and then obviously declined; (2) water level (WL) and total nitrogen (TN) showed significantly negative correlations with FAV and SAV covers, while secchi disk depth (SDD) and SDD/WL had significantly positive correlations with FAV and SAV covers; (3) the human harvesting activity made a major contribution to the loss of FAV cover, and the degradation of SAV cover was mainly due to an increased lake eutrophication and deteriorated underwater light environment. The findings derived from this study could offer a guidance for Taihu Lake ecological restoration and effective management.     

一株甲胺磷高效降解菌——巨大芽孢杆菌(Bacillus megaterium)的分离及其分子鉴定

湘潭南天化工厂的甲胺磷废水未经处理直接排放,对湘江及下游的湖泊造成了一定的污染,利用解磷微生物去除江河湖泊中的甲胺磷污染是一条有效的途径.本文作者从被该厂甲胺磷废水污染的湖泊中分离细菌样品,以甲胺磷为唯一碳源和能源,经过定向筛选,得到一株可高效降解甲胺磷的菌株HN001.气相色谱测定结果表明,此菌株对甲胺磷的降解率在48h和96h分别为49.24%和98.20%.对其进行了常规生理生化测试,结果表明,该菌株与巨大芽孢杆菌的表型特征非常相似.为了进一步确定HN001的分类学地位,测定了其16S rRNA基因序列,分析了相关细菌相应序列的同源性,构建了分子系统发生树,结果表明菌株HN001与巨大芽孢杆菌的亲缘关系最近.综合上述结果,菌株HN001可鉴定为巨大芽孢杆菌(Bacillus megaterium).     

The use of soft X-ray spectromicroscopy to investigate the distribution and composition of organic matter in a diatom frustule and a biomimetic analog

Diatoms play a significant role in the global carbon cycle through their role in biogenic silica production and the transport of organic matter to the seafloor. Recent work has shown that silicified diatom frustules contain a significant amount of organic matter, and that the proportion of diatom-bound organic matter increases with depth in the water column and sediments. Here, we investigate the association between organic matter and the mineral phase. We used a combination of scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM) and carbon X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy to characterize the distribution and composition of organic matter in frustules of the diatom Cylindrotheca closterium and a biomimetic silica gel. To our knowledge, this study represents the first successful attempt to simultaneously image and obtain chemical information about the organic matter within a diatom frustule using X-ray spectromicroscopy near the carbon edge. Organic carbon, most likely protein, was distributed throughout the frustules and was not removed by harsh chemical treatment. The physical structure of the frustules appeared to be related to the chemical composition of this organic matter, with aromatic or unsaturated carbon being concentrated in the most intricately patterned regions of the frustule. A similar physical and chemical structure was observed in a biomimetic silica gel precipitated spontaneously with polylysine. These results are consistent with the theory that organic constituents of diatom frustules direct silica precipitation and become incorporated within the silica matrix as it forms. The relationship between organic matter composition and silica morphology, the failure of harsh chemical treatments to remove this organic matter, and the spontaneous nature of the co-precipitation of silica and organic matter indicate some chemical interaction between the siliceous and organic components of diatom frustules. Frustule-bound organic matter should therefore be protected from decomposition in the water column or diagenetic alteration in sediments unless the frustule dissolves.     

Degradation of Reactive Brilliant Red X‐3B Dye by Microwave Electrodeless UV Irradiation

Degradations of reactive brilliant red X‐3B solution by both conventional UV irradiation and microwave electrodeless UV irradiation were investigated. Degradation processes were studied by UV–VIS spectrophotometry, total organic carbon (TOC), high performance capillary electrophoresis (HPCE), conductivity, pH value, and ion chromatography. The results of color removal (%) and TOC removal (%) showed that the degradation by microwave electrodeless UV irradiation was more effective than by conventional UV irradiation. The results of UV–VIS absorption spectra and HPCE analyses indicated that the degradation of reactive brilliant red X‐3B was occurred at the conjugation system first, the benzene ring and the naphthalene ring later. The reactive brilliant red X‐3B was cleaved into some new small compounds and eventually most of the organic substances were mineralized to CO₂ and H₂O. The results of the conductivity analysis suggested that the degradation has mainly occurred in the first 40 min of reaction. The pH value of reactive brilliant red X‐3B solution was decreased first and then was increased. The results of inorganic anions analysis hinted that many of the N, Cl, and S elements from reactive brilliant red X‐3B were still attached in organic molecules.     

Pickling Waste as an Inexpensive Iron Source for Fenton Oxidation of Synthetic Dye Bath Waste

A simple, low cost, highly effective, and useful Fenton oxidation treatment of synthetic dye bath waste with pickling liquor as a source of iron (Fe²⁺ catalyst) is reported. Optimizations of contact time, Fe²⁺ and H₂O₂ doses are carried out. Oxidative de‐colorization and degradation of Reactive Blue 4 and Reactive Orange 16 was measured in terms of decrease in absorbance at their wavelength of maximum absorption (RB4, 599 nm; and RO16, 493 nm) and also as reduction in chemical oxygen demand (COD). Approximately, 62% COD was removed in 2 h at optimized doses of Fe²⁺ (8.95 mM) and H₂O₂ (61.8 mM) by using pickling waste as a source of Fe²⁺ catalyst. Similar performance efficiency was observed when neat FeSO₄ was used as a source of Fe²⁺, indicating that pickling liquor can be a low cost source of Fe²⁺ to treat synthetic dye bath waste by Fenton method.     

Undrained behavior of natural marine clay under cyclic loading

To study the undrained behavior of natural marine clay under cyclic loading, two kinds of stress-controlled cyclic triaxial tests were conducted on natural K₀-consolidated Wenzhou clay. In the Series I tests, samples were cyclically sheared until failure, and the accumulative behavior was studied; based on the results, a suitable cyclic failure criterion is suggested for natural clays. The effect of loading frequency was also investigated, and it was observed that the loading duration t is a key factor in controlling the undrained cyclic behavior. In the Series II tests, cyclic undrained tests followed by strain-controlled monotonic compression tests were carried out, and special attention was given to changes in the undrained strength after cyclic loading. The degradation of the post-cyclic peak strength was affected by the accumulative behavior during cyclic shearing, but the deviatoric stresses at the critical state were nearly constant. Finally, the accumulative behavior of natural clays was simulated using a proposed anisotropic elastic viscoplastic model with a pseudo-static method of equivalent undrained creep, and the results indicate that this equivalent creep simplification is suitable in practice. By taking the apparent overconsolidation after cyclic loading into account, the post-cyclic strength degradation can also be explained by this model.