Geochemical cycling in the Hooghly estuary, India

U–Th decay series isotopes, δ¹⁸O and Si measurements in the river estuarine waters and sediments of the polluted Hooghly estuary as well as the surface waters of the Bay of Bengal, its high salinity end member, are reported. Dissolved Si indicates that there are probably two mixing regimes, dissolved U behaviour is nonconservative and δ¹⁸O behaves conservatively in the overall estuarine region. Isotopes of reactive elements, viz. ²³⁴Th and ²¹⁰Po, are removed from the estuarine waters in <2 days and <1 month, respectively, which is due to high suspended matter (30–301 mg l⁻¹). ²²⁸Ra and ²²⁶Ra are profusely released into the estuarine waters in the low to mid-salinity regions.As expected, the opposite trend is observed in the case of estuarine sediments and suspended matter. Reactive isotopes of Th, ²¹⁰Pb and ²¹⁰Po are enriched, whereas Ra isotopes are depleted with respect to their parent nuclides in the estuarine sediments and suspended matter. ²³²Th/Al ratio appears well suited to study the distribution and mixing of the bed load sediments of the Ganga–Brahmaputra (G–B) and the Hooghly rivers with those from other rivers on the Bay of Bengal floor.     

The oxygen isotope composition of water masses within the North Sea

Based on measurements of the ¹⁸O isotope composition of 247 samples collected over a 3-year period we have assessed the oxygen isotope composition of water masses in the North Sea. This is the first δ¹⁸O data set that covers the entire North Sea basin. The waters lie on a mixing line: δ¹⁸O (‰_VSMOW) = −9.300 + 0.274(S) with North Atlantic sub-polar mode water (SPMW) and surface waters, and Baltic Sea water representing the saline and freshwater end members respectively. Patterns exhibited in surface and bottom water δ¹⁸O distributions are representative of the general circulation of the North Sea. Oxygen-18 enriched waters from the North Atlantic enter the North Sea between Scotland and Norway and to a lesser extent through the English Channel. In contrast, oxygen-18 depleted waters mainly inflow from the Baltic Sea, the rivers Rhine and Elbe, and to a lesser degree, the Norwegian Fjords and other river sources. Locally the δ¹⁸O–salinity relationship will be controlled by the isotopic composition of the freshwater inputs. However, the range of local freshwater compositions around the North Sea basin is too narrow to characterise the relative contributions of individual sources to the overall seawater composition. This dataset provides important information for a number of related disciplines including biogeochemical research and oceanographic studies.     

The role of fog,orography, and seasonality on precipitation in a semiarid,tropical island

Isotopes of water (²H/¹H and ¹⁸O/¹⁶O) are commonly used to trace hydrological processes such as moisture recycling, evaporation loss, and moisture source region and often vary temporally in a given region. This study provides a first‐ever characterization of temporally variable precipitation mechanisms of San Cristóbal Island, Galápagos. We collected fog, rain, and throughfall samples over three field seasons to understand the mechanisms driving seasonal‐ and event‐based variability in the isotopic composition of precipitation in Galápagos. We establish that fog is a common phenomenon in San Cristóbal, especially during the dry season, and we found that fog, compared with cocollected rainfall, is consistently enriched. We further suggest that the relative contribution of fog formed via different mechanisms (orographic, advective, radiation) varied seasonally. We found that the source region is the most dominant control of the isotopic composition of rainfall in the Galápagos at both the seasonal and event scales, but subcloud evaporative processes (the nontraditional manifestation of the amount effect) became a dominant control on the isotopic composition of rainfall during the dry season. Overall, our findings suggest that understanding seasonally variable water‐generating mechanisms is required for effective water resource management in San Cristóbal Island and other semiarid island ecosystems under current and future regimes of climate change.     

Dissolved Trace Metal–Organic Complexes in the Lot–Garonne River System Determined Using the C18 Sep-Pak System

An 11-month observation of dissolved and particulate organic matter, chlorophyll a(Chl a), C18 Sep-Pak extractable hydrophobic dissolved organic matter (hDOM) fraction and associated dissolved trace metals (Cd, Cu, V, Co, Ni, Mo, U) was performed in the Lot–Garonne River system. This system includes the Riou Mort, the Lot River and the downstream reaches of the Garonne River and represents the fluvial transport path of trace metals between the major point source of polymetallic pollution, located in the Riou Mort watershed and the Gironde estuary. Spatial and temporal variations of dissolved and particulate organic carbon and Chl areflect the presence of different types of organic matter and their relation with the hDOM fraction. Maximum Chl a/POC ratios (up to 0.03), indicate intense phytoplankton production from March to May. In the Lot River (Temple), DOC and POC concentrations were clearly higher and mean Chl a concentration (2.8 mg g⁻¹) was about three times higher than those of the other sites. High Chl a/POC ratios suggest high phytoplankton activity with maxima in spring and late summer. In the Riou Mort River, very high POC concentrations of up to 40 (mean: 20) occurred, whereas Chl a concentrations were relatively low indicating low phytoplankton activity. High, strongly variable DOC and POC concentrations suggest important natural (Carboniferous soils, forests) or anthropogenic (e.g., former coal mines, waste areas, agriculture, sewage) carbon sources within the small Riou Mort watershed. Despite high DOC concentrations in the Riou Mort River, hDOM metal fractions were generally lower than those at the other sites. The general order of decreasing binding strength between metals and the organic hydrophobic phase (Cu, U > Co, Ni > V, Mo > Cd) at all four sites was in good agreement with the Irving–William series of transition element affinity towards organic ligands. Accordingly, the role of the hydrophobic phase in dissolved Cd transport appeared to be negligible, whereas the hDOM–Cu fraction strongly contributed to dissolved Cu transport.     

Origin of Paleofluids in Dabashan Foreland Thrust Belt:Geochemical Evidence of 13C,18O and 87Sr/86Sr in Veins and Host Rocks

In the last ten years, with important discoveries from oil and gas exploration in the Dabashan foreland depression belt in the borderland between Shanxi and Sichuan provinces, the relationship between the formation and evolution of, and hydrocarbon accumulation in, this foreland thrust belt from the viewpoint of basin and oil and gas exploration has been studied. At the same time, there has been little research on the origin of fluids within the belt. Based on geochemical system analysis including Z values denoting salinity and research on δ13C, δ18O and 87Sr/86Sr isotopes in the host rocks and veins, the origin of paleofluids in the foreland thrust belt is considered. There are four principal kinds of paleofluid, including deep mantle-derived, sedimentary, mixed and meteoric. For the deep mantle-derived fluid, the δ13C is generally less than ?5.0‰PDB, δ18O less than -10.0‰PDB, Z value less than 110 and 87Sr/86Sr less than 0.70600; the sedimentary fluid is mainly marine carbonate-derived, with the δ13C generally more than ?2.0‰PDB, δ18O less than ?10.0‰PDB, Z value more than 120 and 87Sr/86Sr ranging from 0.70800 to 0.71000; the mixed fluid consists mainly of marine carbonate fluid (including possibly a little mantle-derived fluid or meteoric water), with the δ13C generally ranging from ?2.0‰ to ?8.0‰PDB, δ18O from ?10.0‰ to ?18.0‰ PDB, Z value from 105 to 120 and 87Sr/86Sr from 0.70800 to 0.71000; the atmospheric fluid consists mainly of meteoric water, with the δ13C generally ranging from 0.0‰ to ?10.0‰PDB, δ18O less than ?8.0‰PDB, Z value less than 110 and 87Sr/86Sr more than 0.71000. The Chengkou fault belt encompasses the most complex origins, including all four types of paleofluid; the Zhenba and Pingba fault belts and stable areas contain a simple paleofluid mainly of sedimentary type; the Jimingsi fault belt contains mainly sedimentary and mixed fluids, both consisting of sedimentary fluid and meteoric water. Jurassic rocks of the foreland depression belt contain mainly meteoric fluid.     

丛粒藻形态多样性与遗传多样性研究

观察了采集自不同地点的3株丛粒藻(Botryococcus braunii)(AGB-Bb01、AGB-Bb02和AGB-Bb03)的显微结构和亚显微结构,以18S rDNA和ITS区序列为目标位点比较分析了16株丛粒藻藻株的遗传距离和序列相似性,重建了系统发生树。结果表明:丛粒藻不同地理株在细胞大小、聚落大小和聚落细胞数目方面存在较明显的差异,亚显微结构显示不同藻株的杯状鞘厚度及细胞包埋程度也存在差异;不同地理株间具有较高的遗传多样性,系统发生树显示所有藻株可分成2个簇群和4个亚群,存在一定程度的地理隔离。研究证明了18S rDNA和ITS区序列是进行丛粒藻基因分型和遗传多样性研究的良好位点。本研究为系统了解丛粒藻的遗传多样性和开展优良藻株选育工作奠定了基础。     

The most metal-poor galaxies

Summary. Metallicity is a key parameter that controls many aspects in the formation and evolution of stars and galaxies. In this review we focus on the metal deficient galaxies, in particular the most metal-poor ones, because they play a crucial r?le in the cosmic scenery. We first set the stage by discussing the difficult problem of defining a global metallicity and how this quantity can be measured for a given galaxy. The mechanisms that control the metallicity in a galaxy are reviewed in detail and involve many aspects of modern astrophysics: galaxy formation and evolution, massive star formation, stellar winds, chemical yields, outflows and inflows etc. Because metallicity roughly scales as the galactic mass, it is among the dwarfs that the most metal-poor galaxies are found. The core of our paper reviews the considerable progress made in our understanding of the properties and the physical processes that are at work in these objects. The question on how they are related and may evolve from one class of objects to another is discussed. While discussing metal-poor galaxies in general, we present a more detailed discussion of a few very metal-poor blue compact dwarf galaxies like IZw18. Although most of what is known relates to our local universe, we show that it pertains to our quest for primeval galaxies and is connected to the question of the origin of structure in the universe. We discuss what do QSO absorption lines and known distant galaxies tell us already? We illustrate the importance of star-forming metal-poor galaxies for the determination of the primordial helium abundance, their use as distance indicator and discuss the possibility to detect nearly metal-free galaxies at high redshift from Ly emission. Received 19 August 1999 / Published online: 15 February 2000     

山东半岛南北两侧海域真核浮游生物群落特征及与环境因子的相关性分析

为了解山东半岛南北两侧的烟台崆峒岛(KTD)海域和日照东港(DG)海域真核浮游生物群落特征,采用高通量测序技术,以18S rDNA V4区为目标基因,对2017年10月至2018年7月两海域的真核浮游生物多样性进行了检测;同期测定两海域的环境因子(溶解氧、氨氮含量等10个理化指标),并与真核浮游生物丰富度做相关性分析。实验结果表明:通过高通量测序技术共鉴定出浮游生物455种,其中,KTD海域共检测出真核浮游生物36个门类424种;DG海域共检测出真核浮游生物34个门类365种。绿藻门(Chlorophyta)、硅藻门(Diatomea)是两海域浮游植物中整体丰度最高的门类。KTD海域,绿藻门各月丰度在3.0%—21.3%之间,其中2018年7月(K1807)最高,达到了21.3%;硅藻门各月丰度在2.0%—16.59%之间,其中2018年2月(K1802)最高,达到了16.59%。DG海域,绿藻门各月丰度在2.0%—12.3%之间,其中2017年11月份(D1711)最高,达到了12.3%;硅藻门各月丰度在2.0%—47.0%之间,其中1月(D1801)最高,达到了47.0%。占优势地位的浮游动物主要是节肢动物门类的物种,其每月丰度分别在6.0%—38.9%和7.6%—48.6%之间。环境因子相关性分析表明水温、DO、pH、硅酸盐、硝酸盐氮等环境因子为影响该海域浮游生物群落结构的主要因子。研究结果对了解双壳经济贝类养殖区饵料组成及其在时空的变化,对海岸带食物网、生态基础管理和海洋经济贝类养殖生产等方面提供数据支撑。     

中华蛸寄生丛集球虫(顶复亚门:丛集球虫科)新种的形态学与分子生物学研究

丛集球虫(顶复亚门:类锥体纲:丛集球虫科)是头足类消化道中一类常见寄生虫,在福建连江海域以及浙江南麂岛周边海域采捕到的中华蛸(Octopussinensis)盲囊及肠组织内发现一丛集球虫新种,命名为多刺丛集球虫Aggregata octaculeata sp. nov.。光学显微镜和扫描电镜下观察发现,中华蛸体内的多刺丛集球虫存在配子生殖阶段和孢子生殖阶段,其中,孢子生殖阶段成熟卵囊呈近球形或椭球形,长径653.6—806.5μm,短径588.1—787.1μm。孢子囊为卵球形或椭球形,长径22.4—26.1μm,短径20.5—24.6μm,孢子囊壁为双层,外部光滑,内层多刺。孢子囊内子孢子呈卷曲状,数目范围8—13个,子孢子长度为22.2—28.6μm,宽度为3.0—5.0μm。基于18SrRNA基因构建的系统发育树进一步证实该物种隶属于丛集球虫属,并高度支持了属内[(中华丛集球虫A. sinensis+A. octopiana)+A. eberthi]+多刺丛集球虫A. octaculeata的系统发生关系。