Interactions of climate,socio-economics,and global mercury pollution in the North Water

Despite the remoteness of the North Water, Northwest Greenland, the local Inughuit population is affected by global anthropogenic pollution and climate change. Using a cross-disciplinary approach combining Mercury (Hg) analysis, catch information, and historical and anthropological perspectives, this article elucidates how the traditional diet is compromised by Hg pollution originating from lower latitudes. In a new approach we here show how the Inughuits in Avanersuaq are subject to high Hg exposure from the hunted traditional food, consisting of mainly marine seabirds and mammals. Violation of the provisional tolerably yearly intake of Hg, on average by a factor of 11 (range 7–15) over the last 20 years as well as the provisional tolerably monthly intake by a factor of 6 (range 2–16), raises health concerns. The surplus of Selenium (Se) in wildlife tissues including narwhals showed Se:Hg molar ratios of 1.5, 2.3, and 16.7 in muscle, liver, and mattak, respectively, likely to provide some protection against the high Hg exposure.     

Internally controlled PCR system for detection of airborne microorganisms

Recently, we reported the outcomes of feasibility studies of a technological approach allowing rapid detection of a wide range of bioaerosols by combining a personal bioaerosol sampler with a real-time PCR technology. The protocol was found suitable for detection of targeted microorganisms within relatively short time periods. Considering the crucial importance of the PCR procedure quality control, the current paper reports the results of the development of an internally controlled PCR system for utilization by the above technology. The suggested strategy is based on utilization of only two fluorescent dyes, which are used respectively for target and internal amplification control (IAC) DNA amplification. A bacteriophage T4 and recombinant phage fd (M13) were used in this research as target and IAC, respectively. The constructed IAC was added directly to the collection liquid of the personal bioaerosol sampler enabling quality control to be present throughout the entire sampling-analysis procedures. For performance evaluation, serial ten-fold dilutions of T4 phage were aerosolized and sampled over a 10 minutes time period. The results showed that T4 phage could be reliably detected at the concentration of around 200 PFU per litre of air over the 10 minutes sampling period. The developed PCR assay demonstrated high specificity and no cross reaction. It is concluded that the recombinant phage fd is suitable for utilization as an internal control enabling to significantly minimize false negative results for bioaerosol detection procedures.     

Physiological–biochemical properties of blue mussel Mytilus edulis adaptation to oil contamination

Bivalves have a known ability to accumulate different contaminants from ambient water and can therefore serve as bioindicators. The paper analyses certain biochemical and physiological parameters of blue mussels in response to varying oil product concentrations. The heart rate (HR) of blue mussels from the sublittoral zone exposed to different levels of oil products was investigated in a long-term experiment using non-invasive monitoring. A sharp rise in HR was observed at oil concentrations of 8.0 and 38.0 mg/l. A decreasing in mussel HR under the effect of lower concentrations (0.4 and 1.9 mg/l) was significant on the fourth day. Strong fluctuations of the cardiac activity were noted under all concentrations. After 6 days of oil treatment, tissues of the mussels were sampled to determine the total lipid composition. Low concentrations of oil products produced no reliable changes in the lipid composition whereas high concentrations induced significant changes in the ratio of lipid components (cholesterol and phospholipids).     

Black carbon concentrations in a goods-movement neighborhood of Philadelphia,PA

Communities along the Delaware River in Philadelphia, USA such as Port Richmond, are subject to traffic associated with goods movement to and from port facilities and local industry. Air pollution associated with this traffic poses an environmental health concern in this and other urban areas. Our study measures black carbon (BC) in Port Richmond and examines its relationship to expected sources such as truck traffic. We used a participatory sampling method to conduct 1-min measurements over 8-hour periods at 14 homes, a school and park, during a 4-week period in June 2012. Measurements over 9 sampling days had a 30-min average BC concentration of 1.2 μg m^?3, and a maximum of 12 μg m^?3. Statistical analyses showed some effect of traffic, but greater association between BC concentrations and weather and time of day. BC concentrations varied more by location than by day, and distance to traffic arterials and interstate freeway was a predictor of this variance. While our dataset is limited by number and variety of observations, major findings indicate that BC concentration varies more by location than by day, there is a decrease in median BC concentration with increased distance from an interstate highway, and an expected effect of diesel traffic on average daily BC concentrations. Our findings are an important step towards understanding patterns and determinants of BC concentration in communities colocated with major ports. Our study also demonstrates that participatory methods in air pollution monitoring can help increase awareness of local air pollution levels.     

Ecological validity of river-floodplain system assessment by planktonic crustacean survey (Branchiata: Branchiopoda)

Studies of the Slovakian Danube have indicated profound changes in the structures of several invertebrate assemblages in the section of the river bypassed by the Gab?íkovo hydroelectric project in 1992 and in adjacent floodplain water bodies. The present study investigates the relationship between hydrological connectivity and species diversity in the old main channel and adjacent left-bank water bodies, using resident cladocerans as indicators of the ecological integrity of the river-floodplain system. The work aimed to quantify cladoceran habitat preferences using habitat values (HV) and indication weights (IW) calculated from data accumulated during long-term monitoring of planktonic communities of the Danube floodplain (1,840.5–1,804 rkm) and supplemented with data from the literature. Although not listed as an indicator group in the European Union Water Framework Directive, cladocerans are shown to be highly apposite in the ecological assessment of river-floodplain systems. Of 71 recorded cladoceran species, 19 taxa showed a preference for eupotamal habitats, 24 species preferred eupotamal B/parapotamal waters, and 28 cladocerans were found to prefer the plesiopotamal/paleopotamal habitat type. Identified habitat types follow a gradient of hydrological connectivity with the main river channel, ranging from the eupotamal to more or less isolated floodplain water bodies. A secondary aim was to use the calculated values to assess the ecological integrity of the river-floodplain system. The key element of this procedure is the calculation of the Floodplain Index (FI) (Chovanec et al. Large Rivers, 15(1–4), 169–185 2005) from the summation of the habitat values and indication weights of all species present at the sampling sites. Calculated index values indicate the extent of disruption to lateral connectivity in the floodplain area.     

A first evaluation of the usefulness of feathers of nestling predatory birds for non-destructive biomonitoring of persistent organic pollutants

In previous studies, feathers of adult predatory birds have been evaluated as valid non-destructive biomonitor matrices for persistent organic pollutants (POPs). In this study, we assessed for the first time the usefulness of nestling raptor feathers for non-destructive biomonitoring of POPs. For this purpose, we collected body feathers and blood of nestlings from three avian top predators from northern Norway: northern goshawks (Accipiter gentilis), white-tailed eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla) and golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos). We were able to detect a broad spectrum of legacy POPs in the nestling feathers of all three species (Σ PCBs: 6.78-140ng g(-1); DDE: 3.15-145ng g(-1); Σ PBDEs: 0.538-7.56ng g(-1)). However, these concentrations were lower compared to other studies on raptor species, probably due to the aspect of monitoring of nestlings instead of adults. Besides their analytical suitability, nestling feathers also appear to be biologically informative: concentrations of most POPs in nestling feathers showed strong and significant correlations with blood plasma concentrations in all species (p<0.050; 0.775相似文献   

CO2 dispersion around two PWR nuclear power plants in Brazil

Atmospheric air samples were taken within 3 km from power plants encompassing five different distances and wind directions. Samples were taken between 2002 and 2005 aiming to evaluate the environmental ¹⁴C enrichment due to the operation of Brazilian nuclear power plants. The sampling system consisted of a pump connected to a trapping column filled with a 3 M NaOH solution. The trapped CO₂ was analyzed for ¹⁴C by using a single stage accelerator mass spectrometry (SSAMS).     

Assessment of uncertainties in greenhouse gas emission profiles of livestock sectors in Africa,Latin America and Europe

The global animal food chain has a large contribution to the global anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but its share and sources vary highly across the world. However, the assessment of GHG emissions from livestock production is subject to various uncertainties, which have not yet been well quantified at large spatial scale. We assessed the uncertainties in the relations between animal production (milk, meat, egg) and the CO₂, CH₄, and N₂O emissions in Africa, Latin America and the European Union, using the MITERRA-Global model. The uncertainties in model inputs were derived from time series of statistical data, literature review or expert knowledge. These model inputs and parameters were further divided into nine groups based on type of data and affected greenhouse gas. The final model output uncertainty and the uncertainty contribution of each group of model inputs to the uncertainty were quantified using a Monte Carlo approach, taking into account their spatial and cross-correlation. GHG emissions and their uncertainties were determined per livestock sector, per product and per emission source category. Results show large variation in the GHG emissions and their uncertainties for different continents, livestock sectors products or source categories. The uncertainty of total GHG emissions from livestock sectors is higher in Africa and Latin America than in the European Union. The uncertainty of CH₄ emission is lower than that for N₂O and CO₂. Livestock parameters, CH₄ emission factors and N emission factors contribute most to the uncertainty in the total model output. The reliability of GHG emissions from livestock sectors is relatively high (low uncertainty) at continental level, but could be lower at country level.     

Use of rainwater for non-potable purposes in the Amazon

The Brazilian Amazon has about 69 % of available freshwater in Brazil, an amount that ends up creating the illusion that no lack of water and not lacking in the region, the large supply of this resource becomes a problem when it comes to the Management and Planning Water Resources in the Amazon, according to the wasteful use and lack of maintenance of stocks, compounded by the release of untreated wastewater. Speaking of water conservation programs in the Amazon a few decades ago and still today, with less intensity, is somewhat strange, given the large amount of water available and the culture of abundance. Thus, this research discusses the importance of the use of rainwater for non-potable purposes, since the potential for exploitation, throughout the year, due to this high rainfall in the Amazon region, ranging from, on average, 119.6 mm in months from November to 441.6 mm in March. The methods used for sizing of the reservoir were the Rippl and interactive, and economic viability checking done by the methods of net present value and discounted payback. As a result, there was a volume exceeding 1,000 m³ obtained by the method of Rippl, while the interactive method was a maximum of 75 m³. The economic viability presented fragile as a function of time to return exceeds the useful life of the utilization system for rainwater.     

Detecting and Tracking Changes in Ozone Air Quality

This paper presents a statistical method for filtering out or moderating the influence of meteorological fluctuations on ozone concentrations. Use of this technique in examining trends in ambient ozone air quality is demonstrated with ozone data from a monitoring location in New Jersey. The results indicate that this method can detect changes in ozone air quality due to changes in emissions in the presence of meteorological fluctuations. This method can be useful in examining the effectiveness of regulatory initiatives in improving ozone air quality.