Ecological half-lives of 90Sr and 137Cs in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems

This paper describes the long-term behaviour of (90)Sr and (137)Cs in foods, feeds and a variety of environmental media. The long-term behaviour is quantified by means of the ecological half-life which integrates all processes that cause a decrease of activity in a given medium such as leaching, fixation and erosion. A large number of long-term time series of concentrations of radiocaesium and radiostrontium in these media have been identified and re-evaluated using a standardised statistical procedure to establish reference data sets of ecological half-lives. By example of undisturbed soils and marine water bodies it is shown that the ecological half-life concept is questionable if the distribution of the radionuclide of interest within the medium studied is non-uniform and if mixing and transport processes within this medium, therefore, are of considerable importance during the time period of observation.     

Emissions of isoprene,monoterpene and short-chained carbonyl compounds from Eucalyptus spp. in southern Australia

Eucalypts are among the highest emitters of biogenic volatile organic compounds, yet there is relatively little data available from field studies of this genus. Emissions of isoprene, monoterpenes and the short-chained carbonyls formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and acetone were determined from four species (Eucalyptus camaldulensis, Eucalyptus globulus, Eucalyptus grandis, and Eucalytpus viminalis) in Australia. A smaller comparative study was conducted on E. camaldulensis in south-eastern Australia. Carbonyl emissions, reported here for the first time from eucalypts, were generally comparable with rates reported for other species, with diurnal emissions peaking at about 4, 75 and 34 nmol m^?2 min^?1 for acetone, formaldehyde and acetaldehyde respectively. There was wide variation in diurnal isoprene and monoterpene emissions between species, but under standard conditions, isoprene emissions were much lower than previous reports. Conversely, standard emission rates of monoterpenes were as much as six times greater than previous reports for some species. Emission of each carbonyl was correlated with its ambient concentration across different species, but more weakly related to temperature. Acetaldehyde emission in particular was significantly correlated with transpiration, but not with sap flow or with ethanol concentrations in xylem sap, suggesting fermentation within the leaf and stomatal conductance are primary controlling processes. Differences in acetaldehyde exchange velocities between sites, in addition to transpiration differences, suggest stomata may indeed exert long term emission regulation, in contrast to compounds for which no biological sink exists.     

SNOW AND ICE ALBEDO MEASURED WITH TWO TYPES OF PYRANOMETERS1

ABSTRACT: In order to obtain total short-wave albedos of snow and ice, both incident and reflected solar radiation were measured over a frozen lake surface using two different types of radiation measurement devices: a Kipp and Zonen thermopile pyranometer with a spectral sensitivity of 300 to 2800 nm and a LI-COR photovoltaic pyranometer with a spectral sensitivity of 400 to 1100 am. The spectral response of the LI-COR pyranometers limits its use as a short-wave radiation measurement device. Therefore, two equations were developed to adjust both the daily incident radiation data and the daily reflected radiation data measured by the LI-COR instrument to total short-wave radiation values, i.e., to the waveband of 300 to 2800 nm (visible to near-infrared spectrum). The LI-COR data were then adjusted, and a total short-wave adjusted albedo was calculated with a modeling efficiency of 0.97.     

Retrospective monitoring of organotin compounds in freshwater fish from 1988 to 2003: results from the German environmental specimen bank

In archived samples from the German environmental specimen bank (ESB) organotin compounds including tributyltin (TBT) and triphenyltin (TPT) as well as their potential degradation products were quantified. Muscles of bream (Abramis brama) sampled in the period 1993-2003 from the rivers Rhine, Elbe, Saale, Mulde, Saar, and from Lake Belau (period 1988-2003) were analyzed by gas chromatography/atomic emission detection-coupling after extraction and derivatization. TBT was detected in nearly all samples and a decrease in levels was observed at all sampling sites. At most sites, the reduction seemed to be a result of the ban on the use of TBT-based antifoulants for the application on small boats, which became effective in Germany in 1989. Highest TBT levels were found in fish from the Elbe near Blankenese (470 ng TBT cation per g fresh weight; in 1995) and lowest in bream from Lake Belau (<1 ngg(-1); in 2001 and 2003). Highest TPT levels (253 ngg(-1) in 1993) were also found in bream caught near Blankenese where the occurrence seemed to be correlated to the former use of TPT as co-toxicant in antifoulants. At other sites TPT levels seemed to be correlated to its use as fungicide (e.g. 9 +/- 2 ngg(-1) in bream from Lake Belau in 2001).     

National PCDD/PCDF release inventories under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants

National inventories to estimate releases of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans have been undertaken since the mid 1980s. These inventories were scattered and hard to compare since there was no harmonized method available. With the conclusion of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants and its entry into force, Parties to the Convention at the global level, have to establish PCDD/PCDF release inventories and report these results. UNEP Chemicals has developed a methodology that allows developing and developed countries to make estimates of PCDD/PCDF releases into the environment along all vectors. Presently, there are 23 national release inventories available that have been made with this methodology, the Toolkit. Among the most important sources, open fires in agriculture/forests as well as open burning of wastes have been identified as the major sources of PCDD/PCDF. The results from these inventories may serve as the starting point for interventions to reduce or eliminate sources of PCDD/PCDF by application of best available techniques and best environmental practices. The Toolkit will be updated as needs arise.     

Simultaneous monitoring of PCDD/Fs and PCBs in contaminated air with semipermeable membrane devices and fresh spruce needles

The contaminated air with burning plastic floor and electronic scrap was monitored with semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs) and fresh unpolluted spruce needles at the same time for polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). It was found that there were more polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) than polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) collected from contaminated air. The total amounts of PCBs were much higher than that of PCDD/Fs, but the contribution of them to the WHO-TEQ was less than that of PCDD/Fs. Triolein-containing SPMDs can absorb much more PCDD/Fs and PCBs than spruce needles when they were exposed in contaminated air simultaneously. The logarithm of the concentrations of PCDD/Fs and PCBs in SPMDs and in spruce needles at the same sampling time exhibited a significant linear correlation, the correlation coefficients were larger than 0.86 for PCDD/Fs and 0.92 for PCBs. SPMDs and spruce needles are effective passive air sampler for PCDD/Fs and PCBs. SPMDs and spruce needles can complement each other in passive air sampling.     

Dynamics of skeleton formation in the Lake Baikal sponge Lubomirskia baicalensis. Part I. Biological and biochemical studies

In ancient Lake Baikal (East Siberia), freshwater sponges have diversified to an extraordinary degree. The skeleton of Lubomirskia baicalensis, which attains a size of up to 1 m, is constructed from spicules, which are cemented into longitudinal bundles. Our X-ray analysis revealed that the architecture of the specimens follows a highly ordered radiate accretive growth pattern. The spicules have a central axial canal with an axial filament inside. This organic filament is composed of silicatein, the major enzyme involved in silica formation of the spicules. We found that the specific activity of silicatein in samples from the non-growing (basal) zone is much lower than in those from the growth zone (tips) and that even the composition of this molecule differs in these regions. The present study shows for the first time that the turnover of silicatein, the major element of the axial canal of sponge spicules, changes within a sponge specimen depending on the region in which it is found.     

Photo-Akustik-Spektroskopie an festen Stoffen

A short historic introduction into the subject and the basics of the generation of a photoacoustic signal with the emphasis upon the particularities of solid samples are given. The set-up of a two-beam photoacoustic spectrometer is described. For a better understanding of the investigations of solid samples the basic theory is presented. Specially treated subjects are: the saturation effect and how to overcome it; depth profiles of thin layers as a nondestructive method used in the investigation of a green leaf and a sheet of color reversal paper; the investigation of solid solutions in a polymer matrix with the determination of the thermic data of the matrix itself, and the fluorescence quantum yield of organic dyes solved therein. Finally a summary of numerous other applications of the PAS is given.