Preliminary investigation of mercury in bone tissues of skua and penguin in Antarctica using AFS and Synchrotron Radiation X-ray Fluorescence （SR-XRF）

Mercury （Hg） was investigated in bone tissues of skua （ Catharacta maccormick） and penguin （Pygoscelis adeliae） collected in the maritime Antarctic using atomic fluorescence spectrometry （AFS） and synchrotron radiation X-ray fluorescence （SR-XRF） method. The total levels of mercury in bone tissues of penguin and skua are much lower than those in other organs （e. g. , kidney, liver）. The toxic effects of mercury in bone tissues of seabirds in polar region are not known. We have used SR- XRF method to map the distribution of trace levels of mercury in bones. The levels of mercury are found to be enriched somewhere near the periosteal surface and/or endosteal surface. The distribution of mercury shows strongly correlation with that of some essential elements and probably poses negative effect on the bone metabolism inferring from the relationship of mercury with the other elements. These studies represent a first step toward understanding the toxic effects of mercury on bone of polar animals by suggesting the possible microscopic investigation.     

微型氢化物发生装置在冷原子吸收分光光度法测汞中的应用

采用微型氢化物发生装置-冷原子吸收分光光度法测定了焊锡料及纽扣电池中的汞。在酸性介质中,用硼氢化钾将汞离子还原为汞原子,用载气将汞蒸气导入石英管,原子吸收分光光度计在波长253.7 nm处进行测定。选择了实验条件,对共存离子的干扰等进行了考察。方法的检出限为0.34 ng/mL,11次测定的相对标准偏差(RSD)小于6%,加标回收率为94.4%~104.7%。     

土壤中氟的形态分析

以宁夏盐池地区高氟土壤为例,采用连续提取法对土壤样品中各形态氟进行提取,离子色谱法测定各形态氟的含量。根据研究目的及土壤特点将氟的形态划分为水溶态、离子交换态、可还原态、可氧化态及残渣态5种形态;对各种形态连续提取过程中使用的提取液进行了选择。采用建立的方法获得提取土壤中F-的检出限为0.76μg/g;方法精密度(RSD,n=7)各形态氟为水溶态氟11.3%,离子交换态氟13.5%,可还原态氟10.7%,可氧化态氟8.9%。     

Simulating a heavy metal spill under estuarine conditions: Effects on the clam Scrobicularia plana

We describe the effect of heavy metals Zn, Cd, Pb and Cu on the induction of methallothioneins on the clam Scrobicularia plana along a salinity gradient simulated under laboratory conditions. The clams were exposed to constant heavy metal concentrations in a dynamic estuary simulator during a 15-day assay to investigate possible induction of metal-binding proteins in them. The concentration of heavy metals in water was analysed. Clams were analysed for methallothionein concentrations. The speciation of Zn, Cd, Pb and Cu along the salinity gradient was modelled. Zn showed the highest concentrations and its prevalent species was the free ion. Intersite differences have been observed in methallothionein concentration and related to the salinity gradient. It seems that synthesis of methallothioneins is the result of physiological forces acting in concert with the changes in the chemical speciation of metals, owing to the trace metals uptake is controlled by means of an interaction of physiology and physicochemistry.     

Distribution of As, Cr and V species in the Po-Adriatic mixing area, (Italy)

The distribution of dissolved and participate concentrations of As, Cr and V was investigated in the mixing area of the Po river in five surveys over the period March 1992-March 1995. The data obtained indicate noticeable contamination of coastal waters of the northern Adriatic with Cr but not As or V. Total dissolved concentrations for As and V were comparable with oceanic levels but were higher by a factor of 4 for Cr. These results suggest either low anthropogenic inputs of As and V, from terrigenous and atmospheric sources, or efficient removal mechanisms. The investigated metals had low reactivity during freshwater-seawater mixing and the distribution of concentrations in the dissolved and solid phases suggests that the dilution process is the main factor controlling the transport of these metals to the sea in low-to-medium solid transport conditions. Further investigations are required to elucidate the behavior of these metals during high solid transport conditions. Significant changes in the speciation of As occurred during the transition between the two end-member matrices. In the coastal waters of the northern Adriatic, the arsenite fraction in winter, and the arsenite and dimethylarsinate fractions in summer increased with respect to riverine waters. Changes in the speciation of chromium were minor, but also showed a small increase in reduced species in marine waters.     

汞对三角褐指藻生长影响的研究——汞与浮游植物相互作用(Ⅰ)

采用连续培养技术研究汞对三角褐指藻生长的影响。当长时间接触含HgCl_2(范围5～25μg/dm~3)的培养介质中,得到结果表明,藻的生长速率随汞浓度增加而降低,细胞所排泄的有机物增加,对细胞中Chl-a的含量有一定程度影响,并抑制对硝酸盐和磷酸盐的吸收。在最初的2—4天中,汞对生物化学过程影响最大。     

Seasonal variations in the speciation of dissolved iodine in the Chesapeake Bay

The speciation of dissolved iodine and the distributions of the iodine species in the deep Chesapeake Bay underwent seasonal variations in response to changes in the prevailing redox condition. In the deep water, the ratios of iodate to iodide and iodate to inorganic iodine decreased progressively from the Winter through the Summer as the deep water became more poorly oxygenated before they rebounded in the Fall when the deep water became re-oxygenated again. The composition of the surface water followed the same trend. However, in this case, the higher biological activities in the Spring and the Summer could also have enhanced the biologically mediated reduction of iodate to iodide by phytoplankton and contributed to the lower ratios found during those seasons. Superimposed on this redox cycle was a cycle of input and removal of dissolved iodine probably as a result of the interactions between the water column and the underlying sediments. Iodine was added to the Bay during the Summer when the deep water was more reducing and removed from the Bay in the Fall when the deep water became re-oxygenated. A third cycle was the inter-conversion between inorganic iodine and ‘dissolved organic iodine’, or ‘‘DOI’’. The conversion of inorganic iodine to ‘DOI’ was more prevalent in the Spring. As a result of these biogeochemical reactions in the Bay, during exchanges between the Bay and the North Atlantic, iodate-rich and ‘DOI’-poor water was imported into the Bay while iodide- and ‘DOI’-rich water was exported to the Atlantic. The export of iodide from these geochemically reactive systems along the land margins contributes to the enrichment of iodide in the surface open oceans.     

Size distribution of colloidal trace metals and organic carbon during a coastal bloom in the Baltic Sea

The physico-chemical speciation of organic carbon and selected metals was measured during a coastal bloom in Ekhagen Bay, Baltic Sea, using ultrafiltration.One important objective with the study was to see if any depletion of trace metals could be measured in the directly bioavailable fraction (<1000 Da, the soluble low molecular weight fraction, LMW) during a plankton bloom. Filters with five different cut-offs were used (1 kD (1000 Da), 5 kD, 10 kD, 100 kD and 0.22 μm) in order to delineate the size distribution of colloidal organic carbon (COC) and trace metals.During the bloom in May, LMW Al, Co, Cu, Mn and Ni concentrations decreased although the colloidal and particulate concentrations were relatively high. Data show that desorption of colloidal and particulate bound trace metals to the LMW fraction was slower than the process depleting the LMW fraction.Estimates of the maximum active uptake of Cu, Ni and Mn by the phytoplankton, and the loss of non-bioactive Al from the LMW fraction, indicate that processes other than active uptake by phytoplankton must contribute to the observed depletion of trace metals in the LMW fraction. Hence, in order to estimate the bioavailable pool of trace metals for plankton during bloom conditions, these other processes must be understood and quantified.Transparent Exopolymeric Particles (TEP, reflecting sugar-rich phytoplankton exudates) increased around eight times during the plankton bloom. We hypothesize that the formation of TEP is a process that might be important for the transfer of trace metals from the LMW to the particulate fraction during the phytoplankton bloom, but the significance of TEP for this depletion in Baltic Sea surface water remains to be shown.     

氮磷营养盐与有机汞联合作用对微氏海链藻生长的影响

探讨在高营养盐（氮、磷、硅分别为浮游植物生长的营养盐阚值≥40、50、9倍）条件下，氮浓度及氮磷摩尔比值[n（N）／n（P）]变化、汞（甲基汞和乙基汞）对微氏海链藻（Thalassiosira weissflogii）生长的影响。结果表明，高营养盐区海链藻的生长遵循营养盐限制的唯一因子论；氮浓度和氮磷比提高促进生长，当n（N）／n（P）=64则呈抑制效应；生长初期，甲基汞和乙基汞均产生毒性抑制作用，生长中后期，适量甲基汞（浓度≤1．0μg／L）、乙基汞（浓度≤0．5μg／L）却呈兴奋效应，促进生长；汞形态不同，剂量-效应关系不同。氮和有机汞是海链藻生长的刺激因子。适度有机汞污染与氮富营养化对微氏海链藻的生长产生协同效应。     

Complexation of mercury by dissolved organic matter in surface waters of Galveston Bay, Texas

The chemical speciation of dissolved mercury in surface waters of Galveston Bay was determined using the concentrations of mercury-complexing ligands and conditional stability constants of mercury-ligand complexes. Two classes of natural ligands associated with dissolved organic matter were determined by a competitive ligand exchange-solvent solvent extraction (CLE-SSE) method: a strong class (L_s), ranging from 19 to 93 pM with an average conditional stability constant (K_HgLs) of 10²⁸, and a weak class (L_w) ranging from 1.4 to 9.8 nM with an average K_HgLs of 10²³. The range of conditional stability constants between mercury and natural ligands suggested that sulfides and thiolates are important binding sites for dissolved mercury in estuarine waters. A positive correlation between the estuarine distribution of dissolved glutathione and that of mercury-complexing ligands supported this suggestion. Thermodynamic equilibrium modeling using stability constants for HgL, HgCl_x, Hg(OH)_x, and HgCl(OH) and concentrations of each ligand demonstrated that almost all of the dissolved mercury (> 99%) in Galveston Bay was complexed by natural ligands associated with dissolved organic matter. The importance of low concentrations of high-affinity ligands that may originate in the biological system (i.e., glutathione and phytochelatin) suggests that the greater portion of bulk dissolved organic matter may not be important for mercury complexation in estuarine surface waters.