An insight into the performance of benthic classification indices tested in Eastern Mediterranean coastal waters

This work evaluates four indices that have been used for benthic macroinvertebrate ecological quality classification in the Mediterranean Sea. Our study was based on the data obtained from the participation of Greece and Cyprus in the Mediterranean Geographical Intercalibration group. The indices AMBI, M-AMBI, MEDOCC and BENTIX were applied to the available benthic species data, and the succession of the ecological groups along the graded values of each index was plotted. The level of agreement among methods was calculated, and the performance of each method in estimating ecological quality status was evaluated. AMBI, based on the Atlantic model, and its derivative M-AMBI overestimated the statuses, while MEDOCC showed the best level of agreement with BENTIX. BENTIX gives equal weight to tolerant and opportunistic species groups, which correlates them more closely than the other indices and makes BENTIX the most sensitive in detecting ecological disturbances in the Eastern Mediterranean basin, where tolerant and opportunistic groups seem to play an equally important role in the response of benthic communities to stressors.     

Geochemistry of recent hydrothermal systems of Mendeleev Volcano （Kuril Islands） and surrounding waters

On the Kuril Islands there are 85 volcanoes, 39 of which are active. Hot springs and mud pots are wide spread in this area and have significant inputs on the chemical composition of the surrounding surface waters and environment. We present results of trace elements as well as data on H, O, S, and He isotope ratios for hydrothermal systems of the Mendeleev Volcano （Kunashir Island） and surrounding surface waters. Water and gas samples were taken from springs and holes as well as creeks and the Lesnaya River. Among the thermal water types, three main groups can be distinguished. The first group includes the waters, in which SO4^- ion predominant. The water temperature on the surface reaches 97℃, and TDS varies from a few g/L to 7 g/L. These waters are acid to superacid with pH values ranging 0.6 to 2.3. The second group is sodium-chloride waters. A maximum TDS is 14.2 g/L. The waters are neutral or alkaline; pH varies from 6.9 to 8.2. The third group is the sodium-chloride-sulfate-bicarbonate water. The Stolbovskie springs, located in the periphery of the Mendeleev Volcano are representative of this type. The pH of these waters is close to neutral. TDS is 1.9 g/L. They are rather the derivatives of sodium-chloride waters arisen from dilution of them by subsurface waters. The Kuslyi Creek and Lesnaya River are located near the Mendeleev Volcano. The most acid springs discharge into the Kislyi Creek as a result pH of this creek being 2.5, and contents of most elements rather high. For example, the contents of dissolved solids of Si, Fe, Al, Mn, Zn, in waters of the Kislaya Creek are 22.1, 8.1, 6.2, 1.29, and 0.28 mg/L, and correspondently. The water of the Lesnaya River, （Before the Kislyi Creek, pH is about 8 with TDS 102 mg/L, but after the Kuslyi Creek, pH decreases and the concentrations of chemical elements increase. Debit of the Kislayi Creek in summer season is about 370 L/sec. It means that every day only this small creek inputs in the Lesnay River about 706 kg of Si;     

扩散法——EA-IRMS测定天然水体铵态氮同位素实验条件研究

稳定氮同位素是研究氮循环和氮污染源示踪的一个有效手段。然而目前国内对水体中铵态氮同位素测定方法研究较少,限制了水体氮循环和污染机理的深入探讨。本文采用改进的扩散法(EA-IRMS)测定水中铵态氮同位素,探讨了样品制备过程中扩散溶液的体积、浓度和扩散时间对回收率及氮同位素测定值的影响。实验得出最佳扩散条件为:1.50 mg/L氯化铵溶液400 mL扩散14天,回收率大于95%,且不会产生氮同位素分馏。本研究为高精度测定天然水体中铵态氮同位素提供了更可靠的实验条件。     

Mallow Springs,County Cork,Ireland

Because of its copious and reliable rainfall, Ireland has an abundance of springs. Many of the larger ones issue from the Carboniferous limestone that occurs in over 40% of the country. The spring water is mainly a calcium bicarbonate type with a temperature of about 10°C. In the 18th century, warm and cold springs were developed as spas in various parts of Ireland. The popularity of these springs was short and most were in major decline by 1850. Today only one cold spa at Lisdoonvarna, Co. Clare is still operating. Springs in Ireland were places of religious significance for the pre-Christian Druidic religion. In the Christian period they became holy wells, under the patronage of various saints. Cures for many different ailments were attributed to water from these wells.     

The chemistry of bottled mineral and spring waters from Norway,Sweden, Finland and Iceland

Twenty-two bottled mineral and spring waters from Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland have been analysed for 71 inorganic chemical parameters with low detection limits as a subset of a large European survey of bottled groundwater chemistry (N = 884). The Nordic bottled groundwaters comprise mainly Ca–Na–HCO₃–Cl water types, but more distinct Ca–HCO₃, Na HCO₃ and Na–Cl water types are also offered. The distributions for most elements fall between groundwater from Fennoscandian Quaternary unconsolidated aquifers and groundwater from Norwegian crystalline bedrock boreholes. Treated tap waters have slightly lower median values for many parameters, but elements associated with plumbing have significantly higher concentrations in tap waters than in bottled waters. The small dataset is able to show that excessive fluoride and uranium contents are potential drinking water problems in Fennoscandia. Nitrate and arsenic displayed low to moderate concentrations, but the number of samples from Finland and Northern Sweden was too low to detect that elevated concentrations of arsenic occur in bedrock boreholes in some regions. The data shows clearly that water sold in plastic bottles is contaminated with antimony. Antimony is toxic and suspected to be carcinogenic, but the levels are well below the EU drinking water limit. The study does not provide any health-based arguments for buying bottled mineral and spring waters for those who are served with drinking water from public waterworks. Drinking water from crystalline bedrock aquifers should be analysed. In case of elevated concentrations of fluoride, uranium or arsenic, most bottled waters, but not all, will be better alternatives when treatment of the well water is not practicable.     

The hydrogeothermal basin of Sofia graben (Bulgaria)

Abstract In the Mesozoic basement and Neogene filling of Sofia tectonic graben a non-homogenous system of thermal water reservoirs connected to a united hydrogeothermal basin occurred. The basin contains and reproduces five types of low mineralized thermal waters and four types of mineralized thermal waters with exotic composition. The water temperatures are 30–80(90) ^°C. The total potential of the basin is assessed at 500 l/s thermal waters and 48 MWt thermal power. The utilization of thermal waters in the area of the Bulgarian capital has its roots and traditions in antiquity, and a promising future. The new town plan of Sofia provides construction of 35 centers for developing a versatile and prosperous hydrothermal business.     

Trace metals in suspended particulate matter and in sediment trap material from a permanently anoxic fjord — Framvaren, South Norway

Geochemical studies of the trace metal concentrations in suspended particulate matter (SPM) and sediment trap material from a permanently anoxic fjord, Framvaren, South Norway in 1989 and 1993 indicate that extremely high concentrations of zinc (max = 183920 mg/kg), copper (max = 4130 mg/kg), lead (max = 2752 mg/kg), and cadmium (max= 8.1 mg/kg) sometimes (1993) occur in the SPM collected in the anoxic water layer. The highest concentrations of Zn occur just below the redoxcline at 22 m water depth (in 1993), and copper, lead and cadmium have maximum concentrations between 30 and 80 m depth, where the amount of total SPM is at a minimum (about 0.3 mg/L). On a mass per volume (g/L) basis, the maximum concentrations of Cd, Cu and Fe occur at the interface (21m) and those of Zn occur just below the redoxcline (22 m depth). The SPM and sediment trap data suggest that the metals are precipitated as sulfide minerals in the anoxic water. The presence of particulate sulfides was confirmed by SEM studies that show the occurrence of discrete metal (Cu, Fe, Pb, and Zn) sulfide particles in size from 10–20 m as well as framboidal pyrites (1–5 m in size). Higher levels of metal sulfides at intermediate depths rather than in the deep water of Framvaren (> 100 m), may be due to input of trace metals by water exchange over the sill in the upper part of the water column. In the deep water, less metal sulfide precipitation takes place due to depletion of trace metals, and the dilution of particulate metal concentrations by organic matter and by the chemogenic formation of calcite.     

Epikarst hydrology and implications for stalagmite capture of climate changes at Grotta di Ernesto (NE Italy): results from long‐term monitoring

Grotta di Ernesto is a cave site well suited for palaeoclimate studies because it contains annually laminated stalagmites and was monitored from 1995 to the end of 2008 for microclimate, hydrology and hydrochemistry. Long‐term monitoring highlighted that cave drips show three different hydrological responses to rainfall and infiltration: (1) fast seasonal drips in the upper part of the cave, which are mostly fed by fractures, (2) slow seasonal drips, located at mid‐depth in the cave characterized by mixed feeding and (3) slow drips, mostly located in the deeper gallery, which are fed by seepage flow from bulk porosity with a minor fracture‐fed component. The slow drips display daily cycles during spring thaw. Monitoring also indicated that drip waters are only slightly modified by degassing within the soil zone and aquifer and by prior calcite precipitation. Hydrochemical studies show a clear seasonality in calcite saturation index, which results in most cave calcite precipitation occurring during late autumn and winter with similar amounts of precipitated calcite on most stalagmites, regardless of drip rate (discharge) differences. Drip rate, and drip rate variability, therefore, has a minor role in modulating the amount of annual calcite formation. In contrast, drip rate, when associated with moderate reduction in calcite saturation index, clearly influences stalagmite morphology. Increasing drip rate yields a passage from candle‐, to cone‐ to dome‐shaped stalagmites. Very high drip rates feed speleothems with flowstone morphology. In summary, monitoring provides information about the karst aquifer and how hydrology influences those physical and chemical characteristics of speleothems which are commonly used as climate proxies. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A STUDY OF RAPID DECAY TYPHOONS IN OFFSHORE WATERS OF CHINA

On the basis of NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data and yearbooks of CMA tropical cyclones, statistical analysis is performed for 1949—2013 offshore typhoons subjected to rapid decay(RD). This analysis indicates that RD typhoons are small-probability events, making up about 2.2% of the total offshore typhoons during this period. The RD events experience a decadal variation, mostly in the 1960 s and 1970 s(maximal in the 1970 s), rapidly decrease in the 1980 s and 1990 s and quickly increase from 2000. Also, RD typhoons show remarkable seasonal differences: they arise mainly in April and July-December, with the prime stage being in October-November. The offshore RD typhoons occur mostly in the South China Sea(SCS) and to a lesser extent in the East China Sea(ECS); however, none are observed over the Huang Sea and Bo Sea.Composite analysis and dynamic diagnosis of the RD typhoon-related large-scale circulations are performed.Physical quantities of the composite analysis consist of 500-h Pa height and temperature fields, vapor transfer, vertical wind shear(VWS), density of core convection(DCC), and high-level jet and upper-air outflow of the typhoon. The results suggest that(1) at the 500-h Pa height field, the typhoon is ahead of a westerly trough and under the effects of its passing trough;(2) at the temperature field, the typhoon is ahead of a temperature trough, with an invading cold tongue present;(3) at the vapor transfer field, water transfer into the RD typhoon is cut off; and(4) at higher levels, the related jet weakens and the outbreak of convection becomes attenuated in the typhoon core. In addition, VWS bears a relation to the RD typhoon; in particular, strong VWS favors RD occurrence.The differences in RD events between the SCS and ECS show that for the RD, the VWS of the ECS environmental winds is markedly stronger in comparison with its SCS counterpart. The cold advection invading into the typhoons is more intense in the SCS than in the ECS, and the low-level vapor transfer and high-level outflow are weaker in the SCS RD typhoons.Data analysis shows that sea surface temperature(SST), VWS, and DCC can be employed as efficient factors to predict RD occurrence. With appropriate SST, VWS, and DCC, a warning of RD occurrence can be given 36, 30-36,and 30 h, respectively, in advance. These values suggest that atmospheric SST responses lag. Owing to this time lag,the prediction of RD typhoons is possible.     

ENSO对南沙海域气候状况的影响

对１９６１—１９９０年（部分资料到１９９４年）期间在南沙海域的观测资料，进行了统计分析，其结果表明：在ＥＮＳＯ发生的当年，南沙海域的海平面气压呈正距平，年降水量明显偏少，热带气旋活动的日数一般偏少；在历次ＥＮＳＯ过程中，南沙海域的总云量与ＳＯＩ的变化趋势基本一致。该项工作有助于了解ＥＮＳＯ对南沙海域天气气候的综合影响和提高天气预报的质量