In November 2002, the Prestige oil tanker was wrecked in front of Galician coast (NW of Spain), spilling near 63,000 tons of heavy oil until February 2003. Contamination produced was very extensive (70% of Galician beaches were reached by the oil) but heterogeneous, alternating intensely affected zones with neighbour locations where the repercussion was minimal. The objective of this study was to monitor sea environment contamination caused by Prestige oil spill during an 11-month period (August 2003-June 2004, nine samplings) in two locations of Galician coast with different geographical properties (Lira and Ancoradoiro beaches), by means of chemical determination of total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (TPAH) in seawater, and using as exposure biomarker TPAH content in mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis) tissues, and as effect biomarker DNA damage in mussel gills, evaluated by the comet assay. In addition, recovery ability of the mussels was determined after a 7-day stay in the laboratory. TPAH contents in seawater were very high in the earliest samplings, but then they maintained below 200 ng L(-)(1), similar to reference seawater. However, TPAH levels in mussel tissues were more variable: they increased again from January 2004, probably due to the adverse meteorological conditions that turned over the sea bottom and dispersed the oil accumulated in sediments. In most samplings, these levels decreased during the recovery stage. DNA damage in oil-exposed mussels was significantly higher than in reference mussels, both before and after the recovery phase, but they did not differ to one another. Comet tail length was slightly reduced during the recovery stage, indicative of a certain DNA repair in exposed mussels. This study showed up the importance of monitoring sea contamination events during an extended time, not only in evaluating the presence of the contaminants in the environment but also in determining their bioaccumulation and their effect on the exposed organisms. 相似文献
Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) have declined dramatically across the Pacific Northwest because of multiple human impacts colloquially characterized as the four "H's": habitat degradation, harvest, hydroelectric and other dams, and hatchery production. We use this conceptual framework to quantify the relative importance of major threats to the current status of 201 Chinook populations. Current status is characterized by two demographic indices: population density and trend. We employ path analytic models and information theoretic methods for multi-model inference. Our results indicate that dams most strongly affect variation in population density, while harvest and hatchery production most strongly affect variation in population trend. Comparable results arise when the sample size of the analysis is reduced to 22 Chinook populations within a smaller region typical of the scale at which salmon recovery planning is conducted. Results from these threat analyses suggest that recovery strategies targeting specific demographic indices, and those considering natural and human-mediated interdependencies of major threats, are most likely to succeed. 相似文献
The composition of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Lake Baikal water and adjacent air layer and PAH emission composition profiles of possible sources were investigated. Analysis of emission composition data showed that the source profiles could not be grouped by fuel type or pyrogenic/petrogenic origin. Because of the similarity of source PAH profiles, the drawing of 3D mixing diagrams was the only way to check whether some of the potential PAH sources were the true sources. The mixing diagrams showed that the sources of air pollution were paper mills and wood burning and that the sources of water pollution were coal-fired and oil-fired boilers. The common source for both air and water was only oil and petroleum products. To determine the locations of PAH sources, their contributions to air and water pollution were calculated and mapped. Based on the results, air and water were polluted from both local and regional sources. The location of the zone influenced by a particular source was conditioned by physical properties of source emission, direction of air/water flows that transfer PAHs and temperature differences between mixing air/water flows. 相似文献
The Serbian National Waste Management Strategy for the Period 2010–2019, harmonized with the European Union Directives, mandates
new and very strict requirements for landfill sites. To enable analysis of a number of required qualitative and quantitative
factors for landfill site selection, the traditional method of site selection must be replaced with a new approach. The combination
of GIS and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was selected to solve this complex problem. The Srem region in northern Serbia,
being one of the most environmentally sensitive areas, was chosen as a case study. Seventeen factors selected as criteria/sub-criteria
were recognized as most important, divided into geo-natural, environmental, social and techno-economic factors, and were evaluated
by experts from different fields using an AHP extension in Arc GIS. Weighted spatial layers were combined into a landfill
suitability map which was then overlapped with four restriction maps, resulting in a final suitability map. According to the results, 82.65% of the territory of Srem is unsuitable for regional landfill siting. The most suitable
areas cover 9.14%, suitable areas 5.24%, while areas with low and very low suitability cover 2.21 and 0.76% of the territory,
respectively. Based on these findings, five sites close to two large urban agglomerations were suggested as possible locations
for a regional landfill site in Srem. However, the final decision will require further field investigation, a public acceptance
survey, and consideration of ownership status and price of the land. 相似文献
This review summarises and evaluates the present knowledge on the behaviour, the biological effects and the routes of uptake of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) to organisms, with considerations on the nanoparticle physicochemistry in the ecotoxicity testing systems used. Different types of Ag NP syntheses, characterisation techniques and predicted current and future concentrations in the environment are also outlined. Rapid progress in this area has been made over the last few years, but there is still a critical lack of understanding of the need for characterisation and synthesis in environmental and ecotoxicological studies. Concentration and form of nanomaterials in the environment are difficult to quantify and methodological progress is needed, although sophisticated exposure models show that predicted environmental concentrations (PECs) for Ag NPs in different environmental compartments are at the range of ng L(-1) to mg kg(-1). The ecotoxicological literature shows that concentrations of Ag NPs below the current and future PECs, as low as just a few ng L(-1), can affect prokaryotes, invertebrates and fish indicating a significant potential, though poorly characterised, risk to the environment. Mechanisms of toxicity are still poorly understood although it seems clear that in some cases nanoscale specific properties may cause biouptake and toxicity over and above that caused by the dissolved Ag ion. This review concludes with a set of recommendations for the advancement of understanding of the role of nanoscale silver in environmental and ecotoxicological research. 相似文献
There is increasing interest among scholars in producing information that is useful and usable to land and natural resource managers in a changing climate. This interest has prompted transitions from scientist- to stakeholder-driven or collaborative approaches to climate science. A common indicator of successful collaboration is whether stakeholders use the information resulting from the projects in which they are engaged. However, detailed examples of how stakeholders use climate information are relatively scarce in the literature, leading to a challenge in understanding what researchers can and should expect and plan for in terms of stakeholder use of research findings. Drawing on theoretical, typological, and evaluation insights from the field of information use, we examine stakeholder use of climate information emerging from 13 collaborative climate science projects conducted in the western United States between 2012 and 2016. Three primary types of use emerge from our findings—conceptual, instrumental, and justification—reflecting common typologization of information use. Conceptual use was the most predominant. We suggest that researcher awareness of this typology can enable more systematic understanding of what project outputs stakeholders use and impacts of those outputs, giving way to new areas of inquiry and aiding in the conceptualization and design of climate information products for land and natural resource managers. 相似文献
Background, aim, and scope The Arctic holds large stores of minerals, and extracted materials are provided to the world’s economy; in this sense, the
Arctic issue associated with mining is not local but global. In a part of the Arctic region (the Kola Peninsula, 66–70° N
and 28–41° E), metal levels are generally elevated in the lake sediment. There is a question as to what results in elevated
metal levels—a natural process (naturally abundant minerals) or an anthropogenic process (mining and metallurgy). In terms
of solving this question, Staroe lake located on the Kola Peninsula was researched as a case study.
Materials and methods The following parameters were determined in relation with Staroe lake: (1) the current quality of the lake’s water—each 1,000-ml
sample was collected at a surface point and a deep point (near the bottom layer), and the collected samples were directly
analyzed after filtration; (2) atmospheric bulk deposition—bulk deposition was collected using a set of three rainwater samplers
near the lake. In addition, bulk deposition was collected in a background site (250 km to the southwest of the smelter complex)
as a reference; and (3) sediment profile (plus principal component analysis)—lake-bottom sediment was collected by an open-gravimetric
column sampler equipped with an automatic diaphragm. After collection, the sample columns were cut at a 1-cm interval for
analysis. Eigenvalues and variances by factor were calculated from the correlation coefficients.
Results The obtained data show that (1) naturally poor elements (Cu, Ni, Si, and SO42−) dominantly influence the lake’s water quality; (2) they are transported from the anthropogenic sources to the study lake
through the atmospheric pathway; (3) mainly the contents of Cu, Ni, Sr, and Ca have influenced the sediment quality since
the 1950s, corresponding to the industrial movement; and (4) Cu, Ni, and Sr originate from an anthropogenic source (smelter),
and Ca originates from both natural and anthropogenic sources.
Discussion As compared with the Russian standard (San Pin 2.1.980–00), the contents of NO3− (50.3 ± 0.1 mg l−1) and particulates (2.3 ± 0.2 mg l−1) exceeded the standard levels (0.7 mg l−1 NO3− and 45 mg l−1 particulates); Staroe lake may be slightly contaminated. However, the contamination factor (comparison with the background
data) implies that Staroe lake is considerably contaminated. There is a strong possibility that fine overburden detritus (<0.1 mm
diameter) may be transported from an open pit to the study lake by natural forces such as wind. Although it is difficult to
suppose that one factor dominantly affects the sediment quality, it follows from a factor analysis that factors 1 and 2 account
for about 70% of the total variance: Factor 1 is the most dominant, and factor 2 is the second most dominant in the variability
of sediment quality. It is considered that Cu, Sr, and Ni in factor 1 originate from anthropogenic sources because they are
poor in sediment rocks.
Conclusions The field survey conducted in Staroe lake can give the following answers to the key objectives: (1) The present water quality
is affected by Cu, Ni, Si, and SO42− in light of the contamination factor, and these elements originate from anthropogenic sources (the smelter and the open pit)
and are transported to the lake through the atmospheric pathway; (2) the sediment profile and statistic analysis show that
the lake quality has been influenced by deposition of metals since the 1950s; and (3) Cu, Ni, Sr, and Ca have influenced the
sediment quality in light of the most dominant factor—Cu, Ni, and Sr originate from an anthropogenic source, whereas Ca comes
from both natural and anthropogenic sources.
Recommendations and perspectives The presented lake survey shows that the dispersion of human-related pollutants via the atmospheric pathway takes place in
the Arctic region. If the current pollution continues without countermeasures, the high-latitude environment may lose its
original characteristics; hence, this subject is important when considering how to implement a wide range of environmental
protection measures in the Arctic. 相似文献
Storage of bottled waters in varying ambient conditions affects its characteristics. Different storage conditions cause changes in the initial chemical composition of bottled water which lead to the occurrence of precipitates with various morphologies. In order to assess the relationship between water composition, storage conditions and precipitate morphology, a study of four brands of Slovenian bottled water stored in PET bottles was carried out. Chemical analyses of the main ions and measurements of the physical properties of water samples were performed before and after storage of water samples at different ambient conditions. SEM/EDS analysis of precipitates was performed after elapsed storage time. The results show that the presence of Mg2+, SO42−, SiO2, Al, Mn and other impurities such as K+, Na+, Ba and Sr in the water controlled precipitate morphology by inhibiting crystal growth and leading to elongated rhombohedral calcite crystal forms which exhibit furrowed surfaces and calcite rosettes. Different storage conditions, however, affected the number of crystallization nuclei and size of calcite crystals. Hollow calcite spheres composed of cleavage rhombohedrons formed in the water with variable storage conditions by a combination of evaporation and precipitation of water droplets during high temperatures or by the bubble templating method.
The aim was to investigate the toxicity of selected metal oxide nanoparticles (MO-NPs) on the brine shrimp Artemia salina, by evaluating mortality and behavioural and biochemical responses. Larvae were exposed to tin(IV) oxide (stannic oxide (SnO2)), cerium(IV) oxide (CeO2) and iron(II, III) oxide (Fe3O4) NPs for 48 h in seawater, with MO-NP suspensions from 0.01 to 1.0 mg/mL. Mortality and behavioural responses (swimming speed alteration) and enzymatic activities of cholinesterase, glutathione-S-transferase and catalase were evaluated. Although the MO-NPs did not induce any mortality of the larvae, they caused changes in behavioural and biochemical responses. Swimming speed significantly decreased in larvae exposed to CeO2 NPs. Cholinesterase and glutathione-S-transferase activities were significantly inhibited in larvae exposed to SnO2 NPs, whereas cholinesterase activity significantly increased after CeO2 NP and Fe3O4 NP exposure. Catalase activity significantly increased in larvae exposed to Fe3O4 NPs. In conclusion, swimming alteration and cholinesterase activity represent valid endpoints for MO-NP exposure, while glutathione-S-transferase and catalase activities appear to be NP-specific. 相似文献