Organochlorine contaminants in seven species of Arctic seabirds from northern Baffin Bay

Organochlorine contaminants (OCs) were determined in liver and fat of seven species of seabirds (Alle alle, Uria lomvia, Cepphus grylle, Rissa tridactyla, Pagophila eburnea, Larus hyperboreus, and Fulmaris glacialis) collected in May/June 1998 from the Northwater Polynya in northern Baffin Bay. OC concentrations ranged over an order of magnitude between seabird species and OC groups, with PCBs having the highest concentrations followed by DDT, chlordane, HCH and ClBz. Positive relationships between delta15N (estimator of trophic level) and OC concentrations (lipid basis) were found for all OC groups, showing that trophic position and biomagnification significantly influence OC concentrations in Arctic seabirds. Concentrations of a number of OCs in particular species (e.g., HCH in P. eburnean) were lower than expected based on delta15N and was attributed to biotransformation. P. eburnea and F. glacialis, which scavenge, and R. tridactyla, which migrate from the south, were consistently above the delta15N-OC regression providing evidence that these variables can elevate OC concentrations. Stable isotope measurements in muscle may not be suitable for identifying past scavenging events by seabirds. OC relative proportions were related to trophic position and phylogeny, showing that OC biotransformation varies between seabird groups. Trophic level, migration, scavenging and biotransformation all play important roles in the OCs found in Arctic seabirds.     

Biogeography of diseases: a framework for analysis

A growing body of literature offers a framework for understanding geographic and ecological distributions of species; a few applications of this framework have treated disease transmission systems and their geography. The general framework focuses on interactions among abiotic requirements, biotic constraints, and dispersal abilities of species as determinants of distributional areas. Disease transmission systems have key differences from other sorts of biological phenomena: Interactions among species are particularly important, interactions may be stable or unstable, abiotic conditions may be relatively less important in shaping disease distributions, and dispersal abilities may be quite variable. The ways in which these differences may influence disease transmission geography are complex; I illustrate their effects by means of worked examples regarding West Nile Virus, plague, filoviruses, and yellow fever.     

CR-39 autoradiographic micromapping of rock sections of various alpha emitters content--calibration approach

The autoradiographic micromapping of rocks with various U and Th contents has been performed by means of CR-39 solid-state nuclear track detector (SSNTD). The optical track density was found to be highly correlated (r=0.92) with total alpha emitters activity calculated on the basis of field gamma spectrometric measurements of rock outcrops. The method was tested not only for the wide range activities of alpha emitters but various types of surface distribution (including highly radioactive mineral grains) as well.     

The first haramiyoid mammal from Asia

A lower molar of a haramiyoid mammal is described from the Toutunhe Formation of Liuhuanggou near Urumqi in the southern Junggar Basin, Xinjiang, China. It is referred to Eleutherodon sp., otherwise exclusively known from the Upper Bathonian of England. It is the first record of the order Haramiyida from Asia and the first Mesozoic mammal described from the southern Junggar Basin. Apart from the English specimens of Eleutherodon and Staffia from the Upper Jurassic of East Africa, it is the geologically youngest haramiyoid known. It is the first vertebrate taxon from the Toutunhe Formation that is probably not endemic and lends some support to the dating of the Formation as late Middle Jurassic, probably Bathonian.

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牧民参与草场治理的偏好与支付意愿——来自禁牧区和草畜平衡区的实证对比

选取内蒙古生态脆弱区荒漠草原典型禁牧区和草畜平衡区进行对比研究.结合区域基本生态社会经济状况,设计了草场治理的选择实验问卷,使用Mixed Logit模型,分析牧民参与草场治理的偏好与支付意愿,以支付意愿作为牧民从草原生态改善中获得效用的测算依据,最终通过总体福利分析提出了相应的补偿标准.结果表明,两区牧民对于草场治理的偏好存在差异,禁牧区牧民的支付意愿显著高于草畜平衡区.禁牧区补偿标准最低应为0.57元/hm²,草畜平衡区补偿标准0.23元/hm².禁牧区牧民偏好景观建设,而草畜平衡区牧民偏好地下水位上升.     

人为扰动下河流复氧激增现象及机制分析

为探究河流复氧规律及其机制,研制出改变河道局部水流流速的深控型水平推流曝气装置,并使用该装置在天津市外环河中进行原位试验,探究人为扰动对河流复氧系数的影响.试验结果表明,装置工作时纵向流速提高至40cm/s,最大增幅22倍;水体溶解氧浓度提高0.6~1.7mg/L,约10%.研究发现,经典的Owens等5组河流复氧系数经验公式均低估了扰动下的复氧系数,试验均值约为49.5d^-1,是理论值的10~100倍,即河流复氧在人为扰动下发生激增现象.分析成因表明,湍流动能与河流复氧系数显著正相关,区别于自然流动,人为扰动提升了水体纵向和垂向湍流动能,加速了中下层水体溶解氧扩散,提高了复氧率,进而发生了复氧激增现象.研究成果为提升城市河流水质的水力学方法提供了科学依据.     

江苏沿海浒苔中重金属含量及食用风险分析

在测定江苏沿海浒苔中重金属含量的基础上,对浒苔食用安全和健康风险进行了评价,为浒苔资源化利用提供了可行途径。实验采用无火焰石墨炉法和原子荧光法对江苏沿海地区浒苔样品中5种重金属进行了检测,并分析了其潜在的可能来源。结果表明,浒苔中5种重金属均有检出,Cu、Cd、Cr、Pb和As的含量范围分别为（7.01~10.85）×10-6、（0.61~1.77）×10-6、（3.97~9.39）×10-6、（1.34~4.74）×10-6和（0.78~1.66）×10-6（干重）。与相关报道相比,浒苔中Cu含量较低,Cd含量较高。Pb的含量超出国标22%~322%之间,As仅有一个点超出标准10.6%。相关性分析的结果表明浒苔中的重金属可能与沿海沉积物中重金属污染密切相关。浒苔安全与食用风险评价结果表明,多种重金属带来的健康风险皆低于5.0×10-5/a,近海捕捞的浒苔食用安全性较高。因此,目前江苏沿海重金属污染不会对市民食用浒苔带来健康风险。     

Trophic transfer of persistent organochlorine contaminants (OCs) within an Arctic marine food web from the southern Beaufort-Chukchi Seas

Stable isotope values (13C, 15N) and concentrations of persistent organochlorine contaminants (OCs) were determined to evaluate the near-shore marine trophic status of biota and biomagnification of OCs from the southern Beaufort-Chukchi Seas (1999-2000) near Barrow, AK. The biota examined included zooplankton (Calanus spp.), fish species such as arctic cod (Boreogadus saida), arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus), pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha), and fourhorn sculpin (Myoxocephalus quadricornis), along with marine mammals, including bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus), beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas), ringed seals (Phoca hispida) and bearded seals (Erignathus barbatus). The isotopically derived trophic position of biota from the Beaufort-Chukchi Seas marine food web, avian fauna excluded, is similar to other coastal food webs in the Arctic. Concentrations of OCs in marine mammals were significantly greater than in fish and corresponded with determined trophic level. In general, OCs with the greatest food web magnification factors (FWMFs) were those either formed due to biotransformation (e.g. p,p'-DDE, oxychlordane) or considered recalcitrant (e.g. -HCH, 2,4,5-Cl substituted PCBs) in most biota, whereas concentrations of OCs that are considered to be readily eliminated (e.g. -HCH) did not correlate with trophic level. Differences in physical-chemical properties of OCs, feeding strategy and possible biotransformation were reflected in the variable biomagnification between fish and marine mammals. The FWMFs in the Beaufort-Chukchi Seas region were consistent with reported values in the Canadian Arctic and temperate food webs, but were statistically different than FWMFs from the Barents and White Seas, indicating that the spatial variability of OC contamination in top-level marine Arctic predators is attributed to differences in regional sources of contamination rather than trophic position.     

Measuring concentrations of volatile organic compounds in vinyl flooring

The initial solid-phase concentration of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is a key parameter influencing the emission characteristics of many indoor materials. Solid-phase measurements are typically made using solvent extraction or thermal headspace analysis. The high temperatures and chemical solvents associated with these methods can modify the physical structure of polymeric materials and, consequently, affect mass transfer characteristics. To measure solid-phase concentrations under conditions resembling those in which the material would be installed in an indoor environment, a new technique was developed for measuring VOC concentrations in vinyl flooring (VF) and similar materials. A 0.09-m2 section of new VF was punched randomly to produce -200 0.78-cm2 disks. The disks were milled to a powder at -140 degrees C to simultaneously homogenize the material and reduce the diffusion path length without loss of VOCs. VOCs were extracted from the VF particles at room temperature by fluidized-bed desorption (FBD) and by direct thermal desorption (DTD) at elevated temperatures. The VOCs in the extraction gas from FBD and DTD were collected on sorbent tubes and analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Seven VOCs emitted by VF were quantified. Concentration measurements by FBD ranged from 5.1 microg/g VF for n-hexadecane to 130 microg/g VF for phenol. Concentrations measured by DTD were higher than concentrations measured by FBD. Differences between FBD and DTD results may be explained using free-volume and dual-mobility sorption theory, but further research is necessary to more completely characterize the complex nature of a diffusant in a polymer matrix.     

Particle mass emission rates from current-technology, light-duty gasoline vehicles

Now that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has promulgated new National Ambient Air Quality Standards for PM2.5, work will begin on generating the data required to determine the sources of ambient PM2.5 and the magnitude of their contributions to air pollution. This paper summarizes the results of an Environmental Research Consortium program, carried out under the auspices of the U.S. Council for Automotive Research. The program focused on particulate matter (PM) emissions from representative, current-technology, light-duty gasoline vehicles produced by DaimlerChrysler Corp., Ford Motor Co., and General Motors Corp. The vehicles, for the most part taken from the manufacturer's certification and durability fleets, were dynamometer-tested using the three-phase Federal Test Procedure in the companies' laboratories. The test fleet was made up of a mixture of both low-mileage (2K-35K miles) and high-mileage (60K-150K miles) cars, vans, sport utility vehicles, and light trucks. For each vehicle tested, PM emissions were accumulated over 4 cold-start tests, which were run on successive days. PM emission rates from the entire fleet (22 vehicles total) averaged less than 2 mg/mile. All 18 vehicles tested using California Phase 2 reformulated gasoline had PM emission rates less than 2 mg/mile at both low and high mileages.