Discharge of oilfield-produced water in nueces bay,texas: A case study

During oil and gas production, water is often extracted from geological formations along with the hydrocarbons. These "produced waters" have been discharged to Nueces Bay since the turn of the century. These effluents were found to be highly toxic, and sediments in the vicinity of the discharges were also toxic. We developed a map of wells and produced-water discharge sites in the vicinity of Nueces Bay and identified numerous unplugged wells suitable for conversion to produced water disposal wells. An economic analysis of conversion to subterranean injection of produced water indicates that most of the wells currently in production could pay out the cost of conversion to injection in one to three years. The use of one injection well for two or more water-producing wells could yield greater savings. Wells that could not support the cost of injection are small producers, and their loss would not constitute a major loss of jobs or dollars to the area. This study could serve as a useful model for evaluating the economic feasibility of conversion to injection in other areas of Texas and Louisiana.     

Human Settlements on the Northern Shores of Lake Aral and Water Level Changes

The shore of Lake Aral in Kazakhstan is a perfect area for studying the human adaptation strategy to past climate changes. New archaeological material, gathered along the northern shores during the expedition of the INTAS project CLIMAN, is briefly presented. Changes in settlement activity during the Atlantic and Subboreal are related to lake level changes of the Aral Sea. A previ-ously proposed lake level maximum needs to be revised. In particular the lake level stand at 72/73 m, with an assumed age of 5000 BP is definitely refused. Based on the presented data the maximum lake level most probably never reached beyond 57/58 mean average sea level (masl). Furthermore the regression during the 15^th–16^th centuries has been underestimated. It may have been lower than the present day level. Thus the present desiccation of the Aral Sea is historically not unique, as a similar regression, probably induced by man as well, has occurred at least once during history. A readjustment of the water level is, therefore, possible at any time.     

清洁生产观点2:把清洁生产纳入可持续性战略

清洁生产已经作为一套手段、一个计划和一种思维方式而产生了影响.对这些影响可以从不同的层面进行评价.清洁生产虽然在过去十年取得了进步，但是仍需解决的清洁生产问题包括政府的政策、环境技术、废物减少、工作场所的安全、经济发展和社会消费.下一个十年需要取得进展的三个环境目标是去除毒性、非物质化和脱碳.另外还提出了清洁生产的一些更长期的目标.     

华南地区薇甘菊叶片挥发性有机化合物的空间差异研究

外来入侵植物薇甘菊对华南地区的生态环境造成严重危害,为探讨薇甘菊叶片挥发性有机化合物在华南地区的空间差异,运用GC-MS分析了华南地区23个不同地理种群230个薇甘菊植株叶片挥发性有机化合物的组分,并用峰面积归一化法计算各组分相对含量;利用线性混合模型分析不同地理种群的气候环境因素对薇甘菊叶片挥发性有机化合物含量的影响;采用聚类分析和主成分分析23个不同地理种群薇甘菊叶片挥发性有机化合物组分的特征。结果表明:利用GC-MS从薇甘菊叶片中鉴定了42种挥发性有机化合物,其主要成分为β-荜澄茄油烯(24.63%)、β-石竹烯(16.81%)、大香叶烯D(10.47%)、α-古芸烯(9.95%)和α-姜烯(9.77%);线性混合模型分析结果显示经度、纬度、海拔高度和温度可显著影响薇甘菊叶片中5种主要挥发性有机化合物的含量;聚类分析和主成分分析表明薇甘菊叶片挥发性有机化合物组分表现出较强的地域特征。研究结果可为阐明薇甘菊的入侵机制及防控措施的制定提供理论与实践参考。     

FADs influence on settlement and dispersal of the young-of-the-year greater amberjack (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Seriola dumerili</Emphasis>)

FADs are fish aggregating devices applied worldwide over the centuries to increase fish catch. However, the utilisation of such floating devices can influence dispersion patterns of some fish species. At present it is still not clear if FADs play a role in the shoreward migrations of juvenile fish of reef associated species, such as the greater amberjack Seriola dumerili. In this study, we hypothesised that FADs located along a distance gradient from the shore might lead the greater amberjack inshore. In such case, mean abundance of S. dumerili should decrease over time in offshore FADs and increase in inshore FADs. To test the hypothesis three FAD systems were positioned in the Gulf of Castellammare (Sicily, Italy), between July and September 2001, at increasing distances from the coast. During the study period, five visual censuses were carried out within FADs fields. During the first sampling period, no significant difference in abundance and size of juvenile S. dumerili was found between the three FAD systems. All the other sampling periods reported higher abundances and sizes in the offshore FADs than in the two inshore FADs. The findings suggest that FAD systems might be exerting two different effects on young of the year (YOY) S. dumerili distribution: (a) offshore FADs tend to retain associated fish for longer periods of time, (b) coastal FADs favour the transition of YOY S. dumerili from the pelagic to the benthic domain.     

Heterotrophic bacterial activities and treatment performance of surface flow constructed wetlands receiving woodwaste leachate.

Heterotrophic activities were investigated by measuring 3H-leucine incorporation to bacterial protein and 14C-glucose turnover in surface flow constructed wetlands receiving woodwaste leachate. No significant longitudinal variation was found in heterotrophic activities of bacterioplankton. An open wetland, a vegetated wetland, and a fertilized vegetated wetland were used to examine the effects of vegetation and ammonium nitrate amendment. There was not a significant difference in treatment performance among the three wetlands, except for a significant pH increase and more efficient volatile fatty acids removal in the fertilized wetland. The fertilized wetland had the highest leucine incorporation rate and shortest glucose turnover time accompanied by the lowest glucose mineralization percentage, followed by the open wetland, then the vegetated wetland. Planktonic and sedimentary bacteria contributed to the majority of the total heterotrophic activities; epiphytic bacteria played a minor role. Heterotrophic activities were influenced by the availability of nutrient, electron acceptor, and organic substrate.     

Patterns of volatile metabolites and nonvolatile trichothecenes produced by isolates of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Stachybotrys,Fusarium, Trichoderma,Trichothecium</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Memnoniella</Emphasis>

We reported previously that trichodiene, a volatile trichothecene derivative, was produced by a Stachybotrys isolate, also known to produce highly cytotoxic, non-volatile, macrocyclic trichothecenes (satrotoxins). We investigated the relationship between the production of trichodiene and various non-volatile trichothecenes for several molds. Volatile metabolites were concentrated by adsorption on Tenax TA and analyzed by GC/MS, while non-volatile metabolites were separated by HPLC, derivatized and analyzed by GC/MS. Stachybotrys chartarum isolates producing macrocyclic trichothecenes secreted significantly larger amounts of trichodiene and other sesquiterpenes than isolates which only produced simple trichothecenes. The amounts of secreted trichodiene were relatively small in all cases. With the exception of Memnoniella, which excreted small amounts of sesquiterpenes, the other isolates produced varying amounts of sesquiterpenes, including trichodiene, as well as simple tricothecenes, no detectable trichodiene, but large amounts of griseofulvin derivatives. In Stachybotrys there is apparently a correlation between trichodiene and macrocyclic trichothecene production. In the remaining isolates, there was no simple relationship between trichodiene and non-volatile trichothecene synthesis. Trichodiene is produced in larger amounts by Stachybotrys isolates, which also produce satratoxins, but it will be difficult to utilize this metabolite to detect toxic isolates in buildings due to the relatively small amounts excreted.     

水生毒理联合效应相加指数法

在水体中往往是多种污染物共存，它们彼此相互影响，产生协同、加合或拮抗作用。本文以联合效应相加指数法研究污染物对水生生物的毒性作用。