The hydromagnesite playas of Atlin, British Columbia, Canada: A biogeochemical model for CO2 sequestration

Anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions may be offset by sequestering carbon dioxide (CO₂) through the carbonation of magnesium silicate minerals to form magnesium carbonate minerals. The hydromagnesite [Mg₅(CO₃)₄(OH)₂·4H₂O] playas of Atlin, British Columbia, Canada provide a natural model to examine mineral carbonation on a watershed scale. At near surface conditions, CO₂ is biogeochemically sequestered by microorganisms that are involved in weathering of bedrock and precipitation of carbonate minerals. The purpose of this study was to characterize the weathering regime in a groundwater recharge zone and the depositional environments in the playas in the context of a biogeochemical model for CO₂ sequestration with emphasis on microbial processes that accelerate mineral carbonation.Regions with ultramafic bedrock, such as Atlin, represent the best potential sources of feedstocks for mineral carbonation. Elemental compositions of a soil profile show significant depletion of MgO and enrichment of SiO₂ in comparison to underlying ultramafic parent material. Polished serpentinite cubes were placed in the organic horizon of a coniferous forest soil in a groundwater recharge zone for three years. Upon retrieval, the cube surfaces, as seen using scanning electron microscopy, had been colonized by bacteria that were associated with surface pitting. Degradation of organic matter in the soil produced chelating agents and acids that contributed to the chemical weathering of the serpentinite and would be expected to have a similar effect on the magnesium-rich bedrock at Atlin. Stable carbon isotopes of groundwater from a well, situated near a wetland in the southeastern playa, indicate that  12% of the dissolved inorganic carbon has a modern origin from soil CO₂.The mineralogy and isotope geochemistry of the hydromagnesite playas suggest that there are three distinct depositional environments: (1) the wetland, characterized by biologically-aided precipitation of carbonate minerals from waters concentrated by evaporation, (2) isolated wetland sections that lead to the formation of consolidated aragonite sediments, and (3) the emerged grassland environment where evaporation produces mounds of hydromagnesite. Examination of sediments within the southeastern playa–wetland suggests that cyanobacteria, sulphate reducing bacteria, and diatoms aid in producing favourable geochemical conditions for precipitation of carbonate minerals.The Atlin site, as a biogeochemical model, has implications for creating carbon sinks that utilize passive microbial, geochemical and physical processes that aid in mineral carbonation of magnesium silicates. These processes could be exploited for the purposes of CO₂ sequestration by creating conditions similar to those of the Atlin site in environments, artificial or natural, where the precipitation of magnesium carbonates would be suitable. Given the vast quantities of Mg-rich bedrock that exist throughout the world, this study has significant implications for reducing atmospheric CO₂ concentrations and combating global climate change.     

Amino Sugars and Their Indicating Role in the Cycling of Organic Matter in Marine Environment

As a kind of marine organic matter with important geochemical characteristics, amino sugars can effectively reflect the source, diagenetic state and mineralization process of organic matter by their concentration and composition in marine environment. This article systematically concluded the research progresses of amino sugars from the aspects of their source, composition and distribution characteristics in marine environment, and the role as a biomarker indicating source and diagenetic state of marine organic matter. The result showed that the macromolecular morphology, the oxygen and nutrient level and the sedimentary environment could affect the reactivity of amino sugars. The higher ratios of glucosamine to galactosamine (GlcN/GalN) and the Total Hydrolysable Amino Acids to Total Hydrolysable Amino Sugars (THAA/THAS) can reflect the fresh planktonic organic matter source and the lower ratios can reflect the conversion from planktonic to bacterial organic matter. The carbon and nitrogen normalized yield of total hydrolysable amino sugars, however, could give contradictory results depending on the relative contribution of the source and degradation degree of organic matter. Muramic acid is suitable to estimate the contribution of relatively fresh bacteria organic matter to particulate and sediment organic matter, but it is not suitable for applying in the dissolved organic matter because of its very low concentration leading from its rapid recycle. It is critical to enhance the research on the contribution of different microorganisms to amino sugars and differentiate the influence of organic matter source and degradation on amino sugars in marine environment. The research on the conversion and fate of amino sugars in marine environment is also needed.     

陆相层序地层学研究进展与挑战

层序地层学的发展经历了三个发展阶段，而最近10多年的发展最为迅猛而引人瞩目，取得了许多重大进展。最突出的表现之一，就是陆相层序地层学研究已成为一个国际性的热点课题，尤其是引起了我国众多地学专家的极大关注，并初步取得了丰硕的研究成果。但是，与其它学科一样，陆相层序地层学在向纵深发展的过程中，也出现了很多问题。如何解决这些问题，并切实有效地、更为得心应手地把陆相层地层学应用到油气勘探以及其它生产应用领域，已经成为二十一世纪陆相层序地层学发展所面临的紧迫挑战。     

Ambient nanoparticles/nanominerals and hazardous elements from coal combustion activity:Implications on energy challenges and health hazards

Coal is the most abundant fossil fuel in the world. Because of the growth of coal mining, coal-fired power plants and coal-burning industries, the increase of the emission of particulates(coarse, fine or ultrafine)is of great concern. There is a relationship between increasing human morbidity and mortality and progressive environmental air pollution caused by these types of particles. Thus, the knowledge of the physico-chemical composition and ambient concentrations of coal-derived nanoparticles will improve pollution control strategy. Given the current importance of this area of research, the advanced characterization of this coal combustion-derived nanoparticles/nanominerals as well as hazardous elements is likely to be one of the hottest research fields in coming days. In this review, we try to compile the existing knowledge on coal-derived nanoparticles/nanominerals and discuss the advanced level of characterization techniques for future research. This review also provides some of aspects of health risks associated with exposure to ambient nanoparticles. In addition, the presence of some of the hazardous elements in coal and coal combustion activities is also reviewed.     

Essential cellular modules for the proliferation of the primitive cell

Bacteria appeared early in the evolution of cellular life on planet Earth, and therefore the universally essential genes or biological pathways found across bacterial domains may represent fundamental genetic or cellular systems used in early life. The essential genes and the minimal gene set required to support bacterial life have recently been experimentally and computationally identified. It is, however,still hard to estimate the ancient genes present in primitive cells compared to the essential genes in contemporary bacteria, because we do not know how ancestral primitive cells lived and proliferated, and therefore cannot directly evaluate the essentiality of the genes in ancestral primitive cells. The cell wall is normally essential for bacterial proliferation and cellular division of walled bacterial cells is normally highly controlled by the essential FtsZ cell division machinery. But, bacteria are capable of reverting to their cell wall deficient ancestral form, called the "L-form". Unlike "normal" cells, L-forms divide by a simple physical mechanism based on the effects of membrane dynamics, suggesting a mode of primitive proliferation before the appearance of the cell wall. In this review, we summarize the experimental and computational investigations of minimal gene sets and discuss the minimal cellular modules required to support the proliferation of primitive cells, based on L-form proliferation.     

A new bioassay for the inspection and identification of TBT-containing antifouling paint

Since the 1960s tributyl (TBT)-based antifouling paints are widely applied to protect ship’s hulls from biofouling. Due to its high toxicity to aquatic ecosystem most of the countries (28 nations in 2008) signed the AFS convention to control the use of harmful antifouling systems on ships. Nevertheless there is currently no simple method to control the presence of organotin in paint. In this study, we propose a bioassay based on the use of a recombinant bioluminescent bacteria to detect directly in paint the presence of TBT. We also propose a simple device as an inspection system to control the absence of organotin in the ship’s hull paint. The presence of organotin could be revealed in less than three hours.     

Sonication of bacteria, phytoplankton and zooplankton: Application to treatment of ballast water

We investigated the effect of high power ultrasound, at a frequency of 19 kHz, on the survival of bacteria, phytoplankton and zooplankton, in order to obtain estimates of effective exposure times and energy densities that could be applied to design of ultrasonic treatment systems for ballast water. Efficacy of ultrasonic treatment varied with the size of the test organism. Zooplankton required only 3-9s of exposure time and 6-19 J/mL of ultrasonic energy to realize a 90% reduction in survival. In contrast, decimal reduction times for bacteria and phytoplankton ranged from 1 to 22 min, and decimal reduction energy densities from 31 to 1240 J/mL. Our results suggest that stand-alone ultrasonic treatment systems for ballast water, operating at 19-20 kHz, may be effective for planktonic organisms >100 microm in size, but smaller planktonic organisms such as phytoplankton and bacteria will require treatment by an additional or alternative system.     

海泥中硫酸盐还原菌数量变化对主要腐蚀环境因子的影响

海泥中硫酸盐还原菌(SulfateReducingBacteria,SRB)数量的变化会对其主要腐蚀环境因子产生影响。实验室条件下,在灭菌青岛海泥中加SRB菌种得到含SRB的海泥。在SRB的一个生长周期内,测量了由SRB数量变化引起的硫电位、银电位、pH值、氧化还原电位及电导率等主要腐蚀环境因子的变化,并找出了该变化的规律,探讨了通过腐蚀环境因子的变化测量SRB数量的可能性。