邻苯二甲酸二甲酯及其异构体的好氧微生物降解

3种苯二甲酸二甲酯异构体(邻、间和对苯二甲酸二甲酯)主要应用于化学工业,作为增塑剂和生产聚酯的原料。用邻苯二甲酸二丁酯为惟一碳源,从红树林底泥中驯化、富集、培养、分离得到的微生物对邻苯二甲酸二甲酯(Dimethylphthalate,DMP)及其异构体对苯二甲酸二甲酯(Terephthalate,DMT)和间苯二甲酸二甲酯(Isophthalate,DMI)具有较强的降解作用。此菌株16SrDNA分子生物学的鉴定为Rhodococcusruber1k。实验得出该菌能够在苯二甲酸二甲酯作为惟一碳源和能源的培养基中生长。浓度为50mg·L-1的DMP、DMI和DMT分别在6、10、11d内可以完全被降解;DMP能够在好氧条件下被该菌快速降解,生成邻苯二甲酸一甲酯(monomethylphthalate,MMP)和邻苯二甲酸(phthalicacid,PA)2种主要中间产物,最终可以完全矿化成CO2和H2O;该菌对DMI和DMT的降解速度则比DMP慢。两者的降解中间产物间苯二甲酸一甲酯(MMI)和对苯二甲酸一甲酯(MMT)却不能被Rhodococcusruber1k继续降解而在培养基中积累。结果表明苯二甲酸二甲基酯的3种异构体能够被红树林底泥中的土著微生物降解。降解速度及降解途径与底物的化学结构有密切关系。     

Spectrophotometric pH measurement in estuaries using thymol blue and m-cresol purple

The conditional acid dissociation constants (pK_a′) of two sulfonephthalein dyes, thymol blue (TB) and m-cresol purple (mCP), were assessed throughout the estuarine salinity range (0<S<40) using a tris/tris–HCl buffer and spectrophotometric measurement. The salinity dependence of the pK_a′ of both dyes was fitted to the equations (25 °C, total proton pH scale, mol kg soln⁻¹):

The estimated accuracy of pH measurements using these calculated pK_a′ values is considered to be comparable to that possible with careful use of a glass electrode (±0.01 pH unit) but spectrophotometric measurements in an estuary have the significant advantage that it is not necessary to calibrate an electrode at different salinities. pH was measured in an estuary over a tidal cycle with a precision of ±0.0005 pH unit at high (S>30) salinity, and ±0.002 pH unit at low (S<5) salinity. The pH increased rapidly in the lower salinity ranges (0<S<15) but less rapidly at higher salinities.     

Meiobenthic Organisms as Indicators of Mixing Processes in the Baltic Surface Sediments*

Abstract. Two sediment cores were collected in the southern Baltic Sea and sliced into 1.0cm-thick layers. Sediments of each layer were analysed for activities of ²¹⁰Pb, ¹³⁷Cs, ¹³⁴Cs and for the density of meiobenthic organisms (meiofauna). Zones with the rapid mixing occur in the uppermost layers (0–3 cm) of the cores based on ^I34Cs profiles. The extent and density of meiofauna confirmed the rapid mixing and revealed layers with slow mixing (4–8 cm). Sedimentation rates were derived from ²¹⁰Pb profiles below the mixing zones (1.21 and 1.72 mm a-^I) and were confumed by ¹³⁷Cs distribution. Of twenty-one major meiofauna taxa commonly found in the Baltic sediments, three were present in the cores.     

红枫湖夏季分层期间pCO2分布规律的研究

在夏季分层期间对红枫湖南、北湖湖心的水样进行分层采集,同时测定了分层水样的温度、pH、HCO₃-浓度、溶解氧(DO)、叶绿素a(Chl-a)及铵根离子(NH₄+)、硝酸根离子(NO₃-)、磷酸根离子(PO₄3-)的浓度,水体中CO₂的分压(pCO₂)由化学平衡及亨利定律求得。研究结果表明:光合作用、有机质降解及水体热分层是影响红枫湖夏季pCO₂分布的主要因素。其中,温水层CO₂欠饱和是光合作用吸收CO₂引起的,温跃层中pCO₂的急剧增加是光合产物降解产生CO₂引起的。静水层沉积物附近pCO₂最高并且还有持续增加的趋势,说明沉积物中有机质降解是静水层中CO₂增加的主要原因,夏季湖底水温较高加快了沉积物中有机质的降解。分层现象使pCO₂在水体中的分布差别明显,并且使静水层中CO₂得到积累。此外,夏季红枫湖水体中pCO₂的变化与NH₄+、PO₄3-的变化密不可分,表现为温水层中光合作用消耗NH₄+、PO₄3-,有机质降解过程伴随NH₄+、PO₄3-的释放。     

Pumping decisions for sustainable development of groundwater resources in areas of grassland degradation: a case study in Lanqi Banner, Inner Mongolia, China

The best planting alternatives for satisfying high water use demands of forage and fodder crops in a region of Inner Mongolia, China, were determined by a multiobjective distributed-parameter groundwater management model. These alternatives took account of different cropping patterns and pumping decisions associated with both temporal and spatial aspects of water allocation. The model was developed for phreatic, homogenous, and isotropic aquifers using the response matrix technique of quadratic programming theory and, in this case, using the alternative direction implicit (ADI) scheme. Model solutions using effective rainfall with a probability of 50%, show that average water table drawdown in the planning period (2006–2017) is 0.22 m and the groundwater fluctuation in each pumping well is very low. In order to evaluate the pumping decisions under an effective rainfall with a probability of 75%, a sensitive analysis was also conducted. Analysis shows that it is useful to apply the results from the proposed model to control the landscape degradation due to overgrazing and overpumping activities.     

Micro-spectroscopic investigations of highly heterogeneous waste repository materials

Assuring safe disposal and long-term storage of radioactive and toxic wastes corresponds to a primary environmental task of present societies. To improve any technical limitation, a mechanistic understanding of the processes governing the binding of heavy metals and radionuclides is required. In this study, the significance of synchrotron-based X-ray microprobes for elucidating the spatial distribution and the speciation of radionuclides in highly heterogeneous waste repository materials will be outlined. A case study on the uptake process of Co in cementitious engineered barrier materials exposed to microbial degradation will be presented.     

Peak discharge of a Pleistocene lava-dam outburst flood in Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA

The failure of a lava dam 165,000 yr ago produced the largest known flood on the Colorado River in Grand Canyon. The Hyaloclastite Dam was up to 366 m high, and geochemical evidence linked this structure to outburst-flood deposits that occurred for 32 km downstream. Using the Hyaloclastite outburst-flood deposits as paleostage indicators, we used dam-failure and unsteady flow modeling to estimate a peak discharge and flow hydrograph. Failure of the Hyaloclastite Dam released a maximum 11 × 10⁹ m³ of water in 31 h. Peak discharges, estimated from uncertainty in channel geometry, dam height, and hydraulic characteristics, ranged from 2.3 to 5.3 × 10⁵ m³ s⁻¹ for the Hyaloclastite outburst flood. This discharge is an order of magnitude greater than the largest known discharge on the Colorado River (1.4 × 10⁴ m³ s⁻¹) and the largest peak discharge resulting from failure of a constructed dam in the USA (6.5 × 10⁴ m³ s⁻¹). Moreover, the Hyaloclastite outburst flood is the oldest documented Quaternary flood and one of the largest to have occurred in the continental USA. The peak discharge for this flood ranks in the top 30 floods (>10⁵ m³ s⁻¹) known worldwide and in the top ten largest floods in North America.